BOURNEMOUTH and Poole are among the three fastest broadband towns and cities in the UK, the latest research shows.

Only Northern Ireland’s Belfast is quicker, according to the uSwitch.com survey, where the average speed is 12.25Mb.

Bournemouth comes in second with a 11.41Mb average, while third-placed Poole recorded a 11.22Mb average.

Statistics were compiled after technicians, working for online impartial comparison company uSwitch.com, carried out 72,000 speed tests over 30 days.

Ofcom has reported that average UK broadband speeds, now at 6.8Mb, have increased by 10 per cent in the past six months.

However, the gap between the actual speed experienced by consumers and advertised speeds is also widening, according to uSwitch.

Company technology expert Ernest Doku said: “While it’s great to see British broadband get steadily faster, the key issue is still that customers are signing up to one service and receiving another.

“At 15Mb, the average advertised speed is more than double the average speeds that people are receiving.

“It is like signing up to Porsche and ending up with a Robin Reliant.”

The consumer survey also revealed broadband provider Virgin Media led its competitors, with a national average speed of 14.68Mb.

Earlier this month Paul Lawton, managing director of TalkTalk Business, said his company had introduced 18 new super-fast exchanges across Bournemouth in the last year.

He added: “The rapid increase in our numbers of super-fast exchanges across Bournemouth is a major shot in the arm for thousands of local companies which regard ‘business grade’ broadband connectivity as the lifeblood of their business.”