Kentish Express Ashford & District
Broadband survey reveals districts which fare best
New statistics show how much broadband speed has improved in districts around the UK – with Dartford among the most improved nationwide, and Folkestone & Hythe among the few areas where speeds have slowed down.
Data published by comparethemarket.com shows how average broadband speed mostly improved across the country between 2018 and 2019, while some areas are being left behind.
The figures show Dartford is the fourth most improved out of 344 districts in Britain, with speeds increasing from 44.1 to 67.7 Mbit/s.
The next best Kent district on the list is Thanet, which ranked 32nd, with speed improving from 30.1 to 46.5 Mbit/s; while Medway is ranked 68th with speed improving from 65.7 to 80.1 Mbit/s.
Gravesham just makes it into the top 100, ranked 92, with its speeds having improved from 53.5 to 67.2 Mbit/s.
At the bottom end of the scale is Folkestone and Hythe, ranked 342nd out of 344, where speed actually slowed down from 58.6 to 52.3 Mbit/s.
Meanwhile, Sevenoaks is ranked 339th, its speeds having risen marginally from 46 to 49.8 Mbit/s, and Canterbury is ranked 325th, its already poor speed having only risen slightly from 29.1 to 35.3 Mbit/s.
Nationwide, the most improved area is Kingston-upon-Hull in Yorkshire, while the bottom ranked district was Daventry in Northamptonshire.
Decent broadband connections will be vital if predictions of a future of mass home working come true.
Last month, we reported how business forecaster, Professor Richard Scase, pictured, felt the lockdown had shown bosses that employees could be trusted to operate remotely.
He said: “When this crisis is over, work patterns are unlikely to be the same again.
“There is huge potential for working from home in the public sector, both at national and local government levels. If we want better services at lower cost this is the only way forward.”
Workers will save lots of time and money by not commuting.