Inadequate home Internet speeds are contributing to the digital divide during lockdown across both urban and rural areas
Global Wireless Solutions (GWS) unveiled the findings of a recent study that looks at real-life consumer experiences of home Internet connections in the UK which demonstrates a salient digital divide in the UK. This was revealed in approximately a third (30%) of the population who are suffering from inadequate throughputs – download speeds lower than 2 Mbps or upload speeds lower than 1 Mbps. Moreover, as per the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom), speeds higher than 10 Mbps for download and 1 Mbps for upload is considered a ‘decent’ broadband service which means that only 64% of homes have ‘decent’ service in the UK. Yet, 62% of the respondents who have home Internet reported experiencing a range of issues from being unable to load websites, stream videos, or connect to video conferences. For these reasons, over half (52%) of the respondents expressed that they felt isolated at some point during the first national lockdown.