Telecoms regulator Ofcom has been closely tracking internet speeds across the UK, amidst a national effort to improve online access in British households. Their data has revealed a lot, including the well-documented urban-rural divide, but now a new kind of divide is emerging in urban properties across the country.
Why Households Need Fast Internet
The internet has come a long way since the ‘90s, when it was viewed as something of an oddity, albeit one that allowed us to talk with people across the globe. Today, it’s a crucial part of life that supports remote workers, fast and efficient management solutions and emerging technologies in the home. For example, smart homes rely on the internet to stay connected to one another and controllable from the swipe of your phone screen.
More broadly, businesses also rely on the internet and trust that their employees and customers also have internet access. Many business models operate exclusively online, like e-commerce stores or iGaming sites that offer casino games. Likewise, these businesses only exist because they know the average household can access bingo games in the UK and other forms of online entertainment. Currently, the average internet plan is more than enough to access these services.
However, the data demand for online services will grow in the future. As software becomes more advanced, it necessitates larger file sizes and longer load times for online web pages. Older internet users have already seen this, as some downloads went from being measured in megabytes to gigabytes over time. If that trajectory continues, then it’s prudent to equip British households with the best internet possible so that properties aren’t left behind.
Internet Speeds in Flats
Earlier in 2024, the Parliament and Ofcom collaborated to release new broadband data for the nation’s urban areas. From that data, they identified a consistent gap in internet speeds in areas heavy with flats, when compared to areas that didn’t have so many flats. In this case, speeds were measured in gigabit availability, which is the ability of a household to buy one gigabit per second internet speeds if they so wished.
They call it “the urban digital divide” and it shows that most urban areas with less than 25% flat buildings have 89% gigabit availability when refined into a national average. Then, areas with at least 75% flat buildings have less availability at 78%. That’s a -12% gap for those in flats across the country’s urban postcodes, but every region is affected differently.
Fortunately, the Commons Library page breaks down the data by region. It shows that Scotland is the least affected – flat-less urban postcodes have 92% availability against 86% for flat-heavy areas, so just a 6% gap. Due to the heavy urban-rural divide in Scotland, flat-heavy areas outside of urban postcodes actually get a +10% boost in availability over flat-less rural postcodes. This is the only place where the trend reverses, and having a lot of flats in an area is positive for gigabit availability.
For the country’s other regions, London has a -9% gap between 93% in flat-less areas and 84% for flat-heavy areas. Wales saw a larger -14% gap between 82% and 68% gigabit availability. There’s no clear pattern tying together the worst-affected regions, besides the properties in its urban postcodes. The North West of England was the most affected with a massive -22% gap (89% vs 67%) but, in close second place, the South East had an -18% gap (87% vs 69%).
Along with this data, the government has identified reasons why internet infrastructure can lag in flat accommodations. Put simply, multi-dwelling units (MDUs) require both the consent of customers and the landlord/freeholder, depending on its particular legal situation. Getting wayleave agreements is possible, but slower than working with other residences.
This is already becoming easier thanks to the Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2021, where broadband companies can work with MDUs even if the owner has been unresponsive. Now that this issue has been identified, the government and providers like Openreach are already working on a solution that balances landlord and consumer rights.
