Almost a fifth of people living in the East of England are waiting more than thirty minutes every time they load a web page, whilst more than one in 20 are left buffering for up to two and a half hours, according to new research into UK broadband speeds. This equates to an incredible three and a half days of waiting per month for the average East of England resident.
For those living in rural areas, the problem is even more severe, with one HD film taking an average of 55 minutes to download – almost twice as long as in urban areas.
The study, commissioned by ultrafast rural broadband provider, Gigaclear, found that 61 percent of residents in the East of England regularly have problems with their internet, with over 30 percent losing connection entirely several times a week, and almost one in twenty losing access every single day.
This is having significant consequences given so many of the population are having to work from home currently, with many failing to receive important emails, being late to make payments, and even left unable to complete job applications due to poor broadband performance. Brits also reported missing out on the sale of houses, important delivery slots and work deadlines as a result of internet woes.
It is, therefore, no wonder that the issue is having a significant impact on people’s mental wellbeing, with one in ten UK adults admitting to feeling very stressed every single time they use their internet. With the average Brit using the internet for almost five hours each working day, this means that many are feeling stressed for almost half the day, every day, due to poor broadband.
Broadband stresses are also having a negative impact on relationships, with a quarter of Brits admitting that broadband speeds have had a detrimental effect on their family lives. 17 percent in the region say the internet has had a negative effect on their finances, with many also feeling the effect on their careers and their physical health.
It is perhaps, therefore, no wonder that some have gone to extreme lengths to tackle poor broadband performance, with some families moving to a new house just to improve their access to working internet. Almost a fifth of Brits have considered funding the necessary improvement themselves, whilst one in 10 have introduced family rotas for internet usage to reduce stress levels.
Despite these frustrations, the study shows 27 percent of UK households have a minimum of three people using the internet at any one time, which is only antagonising the problem, causing stress levels to rise.
