Uswitch response to Ofcom’s 2020 Connected Nations report

Richard Neudegg, Head of Regulation at Uswitch.com, commented:

“With millions of Britons spending much of 2020 working from home, the importance of getting fast, reliable broadband to as many people as possible has never been clearer.

“Ofcom’s figures reveal just how reliant we have become on our broadband connections. The average home churned through over a third more data this year than last, and data usage has shot up by 225% over the last four years.

“A series of huge investment programmes by broadband networks is finally bearing fruit. The number of homes hooked up to a full-fibre connection surged 80% in 2020 - its biggest ever annual increase.

“But there are still too many homes without even the most basic broadband speeds. In rural areas, a fifth of households cannot get superfast, which with a minimum download speed of 30Mbps is a fraction of full-fibre speed.

“While the economics of connecting small rural communities to costly fibre cables will always be challenging, the digital divide is about more than just connectivity.

“It’s not enough for network providers to build the infrastructure and sit back, hoping consumers will upgrade. There’s a knowledge gap too, and Ofcom’s figures reveal that 11 million households which can get a superfast connection are still struggling on speeds of 12Mbps or less.

“Many people who are still stuck on the slowest ADSL broadband could upgrade to a faster connection simply by switching product or provider, and if out of contract, will likely save money too.”