Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the average broadband speed in rural areas in 2010.

Ofcom’s UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2010, estimated that the average download speed delivered to residential fixed-line broadband consumers in rural areas was 2.7Mbps. This was actual experienced speed, measured using a sample panel, and would have reflected the package chosen by the consumer, even if a higher speed service was available to them. Ofcom’s latest UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2020, found that the average peak time download speeds for rural areas was 38.5Mbps.