How do you get fast broadband? Easy – just move to Tamworth!

MANY households are still being forced to endure woefully slow broadband speeds.

The Orkney Islands, Ryedale in Yorkshire and Purbeck in Dorset are among the worst affected, a report revealed.

The fastest speeds are in Tamworth in Staffordshire and Reading.

Eleven local authorities failed to reach a proposed legal minimum speed of ten megabits per second (mbps), analysis by consumer group Which? found.

It means the average household in Ryedale with a 9mbps speed would wait 14 and a half minutes to download the latest Hollywood blockbuster, twice as long as it takes with the average UK speed of 17mbps.

The government plans to enforce the minimum speed by 2020, which is in line with a recommendation by telecoms watchdog Ofcom.

Most of the worst speeds are in remote parts of Scotland and Wales, although one glaring exception is Southwark in London.

The London boroughs of Westminster, Lambeth, Hackney and the City of London were also found to be below average.

Those living in the Orkney Islands in Scotland have most to complain about, with an average speed of 6.3mbps.

The local authorities with the fastest speeds were Tamworth with 30.4mbps, followed by Reading with 30mbps and Adur in West Sussex with 29.2mbps.

MPs and campaigners say as well as being inconvenient, slow broadband speeds make businesses less productive, holding back the economy.

At the centre of the criticism is BT. It has been attacked for failing to invest enough in its arm Openreach, which controls the fibre connections, ducts and pipes behind the UK’s broadband infrastructure.

It sells access to rivals such as TalkTalk and Sky. Broadband providers have also been accused of misleading customers by exaggerating speeds.

Alex Neill, managing director of home services at Which?, said: ‘Far too many households across the UK are suffering from slow broadband speeds, which can stop you being able to carry out essential daily tasks.’

Senior Tory MP Grant Shapps, who led a cross-party campaign to boost Britain’s broadband speeds, said: ‘It is unacceptable that so many UK households still receive appalling broadband speeds, which rest well below the proposed minimum standards. This demonstrates that broadband companies are still not taking action towards improving speeds for those receiving the worst coverage.’

But the government said the report is misleading because it focuses on average speeds, rather than the best speed available to households if they switched to a better service.

A spokesman for Ofcom said: ‘We’re already taking firm, wideranging action to protect broadband customers, such as ensuring providers commit to giving more accurate speeds.’