Square Mile lags behind Orkney Islands to clinch the slowest internet in Britain

Homes in the City of London have the slowest internet in the country, with speeds even in the remote Orkney Islands outstripping the square mile, a study has shown.

Residential fixed-line broadband speeds average 15.1 megabits per second in the City, almost seven times slower than York, which is the fastest in Britain.

This puts the Square Mile at the bottom of the pile, behind the Orkney Islands, with 17.6 Mbps, Powys in Wales, with 20 Mbps, and Argyll and Bute on the west coast of Scotland, RS Components found.

York, where speeds average 102.9 Mbps, is the fastest in the country, followed by North East Lincolnshire and West Dunbartonshire.

The government announced in July it would boost rural communities with a £45m investment to improve broadband speeds.

The money will be given to local communities where speeds of 30 Mbps or more are not available or planned.

Those who live in the City of London, unlike businesses, are often forced to deal with slower internet speeds, as it is difficult to replace old copper lines in the densely populated area.

Companies, meanwhile, can often afford to front the costs to bring in new technology, while residents are instead turning more and more to mobile alternatives.

Although other areas of London have better speeds than in the Square Mile, no boroughs in Inner London made the UK's top 100.

RS Components, which drew on data from Ofcom, said internet access is vital for the economy, but that despite recent investment “the UK is still struggling to bridge the gap between those with sufficient internet access and those without.”