Average fixed broadband speeds in the UK are now up to 12 Mbps, compared to 9 Mbps in May 2012, according to new figures from communications regulator Ofcom.
Ofcom adds that the rise in popularity of superfast connections from providers like BT and Virgin Media, as well as the incremental speed increases periodically introduced on these lines, is particularly helping to drive up the national average broadband speeds.
Perhaps most significantly of all, the proportion of UK residential fixed broadband connections that were superfast (above 30 Mbps) more than doubled in the 12 months to November 2012, according to Ofcom, rising from 5% of all connections to 13%.
Furthermore, the great majority of broadband users (77% of all connections) were on packages above 10 Mbps in November 2012 – up from 58% one year previously – with many customers being migrated to higher-speed packages at little or no additional cost to the consumer.
Average upload speeds also increased substantially in the six months to November 2012, according to Ofcom – good news for filer sharers and online gamers – with average speeds increasing 30% from 1.1 Mbps in May 2012 to 1.4 Mbps in November 2012.
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