Huge gap in internet broadband speeds across East Renfrewshire revealed

However, for some families in East Renfrewshire, frustrations are set to continue with new figures revealing crippling broadband speeds in some neighbourhoods.

Across the local authority, broadband speeds range from a superfast 279.5 megabits (Mbps) per second to 5.5 Mbps, according to data from Uswitch.com.

It means families using Zoom, Skype or Facebook to speak to relatives and friends could be faced with annoying freezes, cut-outs and sound delays.

The average broadband speeds were collected in postcode areas with more than 50 addresses through at least one test in the 12 months up to October this year. In total, nearly 400,000 tests were done.

They revealed, in East Renfrewshire the postcodes with the slowest speeds were:

1) G782LJ, in Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor, with an average speed of 5.5Mbps

2) G767YH, in Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood, average 6.2Mbps

3) G776TU, in Newton Mearns North and Neilston, average 7.6Mbps

The postcodes with the fastest speeds were:

1) G781RG, in Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor, average 279.5Mbps

2) G781JR, in Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor, average 160.7Mbps

3) G767JD, in Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood, average 129.4Mbps

Ernest Doku, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said: “The digital divide that runs through Britain has grown dramatically in the last year, with the fastest street’s broadband more than 5,000 times quicker than the slowest’s.”

He added: “It’s great that more of us are enjoying ultrafast broadband, but we don’t want to see large swathes of the country left behind on shoddy connections that aren’t suitable for modern life.”

The Government set out a draft strategy to connect 1 million homes and businesses with 1,000 Mbps broadband in the hardest-to-reach areas of the UK.

It is part of a plan to provide 85% of the country with broadband capable of the speed by 2025.

Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Matt Warman, said: “We will begin these procurements rapidly so broadband providers big and small can move quickly to get the job done and level up communities with this much faster, next generation broadband.”