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The telecoms regulator teamed up with SamKnows Broadband to test the actual speed of connections in 7,000 homes across the country using specially-adapted routers.

The research found that the average broadband speed in the UK was 3.6Mb/sec, compared to an average headline speed of 7.2Mb/sec. But the research also found that average throughput speeds for those on up to 8Mb/sec ADSL Max lines dropped by 30% during peak evening hours.

The average maximum speed measured on an 8Mb connection was

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a mere 4.5Mb/sec, but one in five people 8Mb lines saw average speeds slower than 2Mb/sec.

Ofcom says the research will help inform future policy making, but stopped short of naming and shaming the ISPs with the best and worst performance. However, it admits that “the worst-performing ISPs had much greater variation by hour of day” suggesting that “degradation caused by contention is also a driver of difference in performance”.

Alex Salter, chairman of SamKnows, told PC Pro that the regulator will eventually use the data to rank the broadband providers.

“Ofcom really wants the ISPs to buy into the methodology. There is a lot of momentum behind Ofcom publishing specific ISP data.”

The report also suggests that distance from the local exchange isn’t as critical to actual throughput as previously thought, with wild variations in speed even for people who live near their exchange. SamKnows creator, Sam Crawford, says factors such as old modems, faulty internal wiring and interference could also be major performance factors.