Miserden has slowest broadband in UK, cable.co.uk says

The village of Miserden is at risk of becoming a digital "ghost town", says cable.co.uk

A Gloucestershire village has the UK's slowest average broadband speed, tests carried out by householders suggest.

Download speeds in Miserden averaged 1.3Mbps, meaning it could take 11 hours to download an HD film.

Parts of Hertfordshire, Cumbria and Somerset also had average speeds below 2Mbps, consumer tests over 12 months showed, cable.co.uk said.

But, a government spokesman said faster speeds might be available under different deals in those areas.

'Worse than Everest'

Cable.co.uk, a consumer comparison site, released a list of the slowest and fastest speeds recorded by householders themselves, under their existing broadband deals.

Of 94 tests conducted in Miserden, a village with a population of around 450, the average speed was 1.3Mbps but one resident recorded a "staggeringly low" speed of 0.12Mbps.

Cable.co.uk said at that speed it would take 119 hours to download the Bond film Spectre in HD.

Residents of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire recorded the highest average broadband speed - 77.17Mbps.

But Ashwell in Hertfordshire, Ulverston and Gilsland in Cumbria and the village of Brent Knoll in Somerset all recorded speeds below 2Mbps - which is "worse broadband than Mount Everest base camp", according to cable.co.uk.

Dan Howdle, of the firm, warned that "digital black holes" risked economic decline as businesses needed an online presence.

'Subsidised connection'

"These often beautiful, scenic locations will become ghost towns," he said.

The average UK broadband speed was 22.8Mbps in November 2014, the latest Ofcom figures available.

The government has pledged speeds of at least 2Mbps to all UK premises.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said those below that could check whether they are eligible for a subsidised satellite connection.

"This scheme offers immediate assistance to those in the most remote areas with the slowest speeds and is all part of our transformation of the UK's digital landscape," he said.