Gloucester tops UK cities for reliable broadband, Belfast lags

A recent study by Broadband Genie has revealed the cities with the most and least reliable broadband services across the UK, highlighting significant disparities in connectivity.

According to the study, Gloucester is the best-performing city for reliable broadband, with only 8% of its residents experiencing outages last year. In contrast, the city of Belfast fared the worst, with over half of its population, 51%, reporting service interruptions in 2024.

The study involved a survey of 3,200 individuals across various UK cities, questioning participants on the frequency of broadband outages they experienced, their place of residence, and their broadband provider. This information contributed to the calculation of a reliability score out of 100 for each city.

Following Gloucester, other cities with high reliability scores included Wolverhampton, Worcester, and Oxford, all of which reported fewer outages among users. Sheffield, Wrexham, and Norwich also performed well in maintaining consistent broadband connections.

Peter Ames, Broadband Expert at Broadband Genie, commented on the findings, "It's pretty shocking that more than 15 cities in the UK saw a quarter of broadband customers experiencing broadband outages last year. If this level of service was delivered by other essential utilities, serious questions would be asked."

Ames further stated, "At Broadband Genie, we want to see broadband treated as any other utility, with greater scrutiny therefore placed on essentials such as uptime."

The experts at Broadband Genie recommend that consumers choose broadband providers based not only on price but also on reliability, especially for those who work from home where service interruptions can result in financial losses or increased expenses due to mobile data use.

Ames advised, "We always recommend that consumers check independent reviews, especially in their area as provider reliability can vary by location, and at the very least ensure their provider is signed up to Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme." He added, "And, if you do lose connectivity, make sure you put that claim in, it's your money, and you're entitled to it!"

Under Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme, consumers can claim GBP £9.76 per day if their broadband provider is part of the scheme, providing the service disruption persists for more than two working days after the fault is reported. Participating providers include notable names such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media.

If a provider is not part of the scheme, customers can still explore other avenues to claim compensation. This can involve checking the provider's terms for compensation directly, lodging a formal complaint, and potentially escalating the issue to an independent ombudsman if resolution is not satisfactory.

For some individuals across affected areas like Belfast and London, where connectivity is notably inconsistent, switching providers might be a viable option, especially if their current provider doesn't offer adequate compensation for repeated outages.