Survey Says Barrowgate Road has London's Slowest Broadband

Ranked as one of the worst five streets in the country

Barrowgate Road in Chiswick. Picture: Google Streetview

November 27, 2024

A broadband comparison site has published a ranking of streets across the country which shows Barrowgate Road having the slowest internet speeds in London.

Broadband Genie’s analysis concluded that residents of the Chiswick street are getting average speeds of just 0.67Mb, this makes it 1,376 times slower than Tynemouth Street in Fulham, London’s fastest street.

The company estimates that it would take 20 hours to download a high-definition film at this speed. The rate measured on Barrowgate Road puts it in the top 5 slowest streets in the whole of the UK.

Barrowgate Road residents should have access to ultrafast broadband of at least 300Mb and Broadband Genie is suggesting households should check their internet connection performance and contact their provider if they are not receiving the guaranteed minimum speeds they were promised.

The company recorded and analysed 207,711 broadband speed tests in a 12-month period in 2023 and 202. To be included in the study, a street had to have a minimum of three speed tests from unique IP addresses over a fixed-line internet connection. The streets were ranked based on a combination of broadband download and upload speed.

You can run a speed test on the Broadband Genie site here.

All 10 of London’s slowest streets have access to ultrafast broadband, delivered by Openreach full fibre or Virgin Media broadband, capable of delivering broadband speeds from 300Mb all the way up to 1Gb+.

Overall, London streets averaged a broadband speed of 122.72Mb, higher than all the UK at 81.97Mb.

Table: London’s slowest streets league table

Broadband Genie is an independent switching site for consumers and businesses with practical help launched in March 2004 as the first dedicated consumer comparison site for broadband. It is now one of the largest in the UK, attracting more than 200,000 visitors each month.

Alex Tofts, strategist at Broadband Genie, said, “Broadband customers should not have to tolerate slow broadband, especially when the majority of providers continue to annually raise prices for customers.

“However, it’s important to note, these are real speed tests. Poor broadband can be caused by various factors, such as number of devices, number of users and activity, router placement, and Wi-Fi signal strength.

“No bill payer or internet user should suffer in silence. If you find your broadband is consistently underperforming, and you can’t troubleshoot the issue yourself, contact your internet service provider.

“The majority of widely available broadband providers are signed up to Ofcom’s Broadband Speed Code of Practice. If your provider can’t resolve the issue within 30 days, you're free to leave your contract without charge.

“If you haven’t renewed your broadband contract in over two years, it’s likely you can get a faster deal at the same or lower cost than what you’re currently paying.”