Home broadband twice as fast as mobile

Home broadband is now more than twice as fast as mobile broadband, according to new research.

Research by broadband comparison site Broadband Expert shows that the gap between home and mobile broadband speeds is widening. 

The research follows a ban by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), on an advert that claimed mobile broadband offered “all the benefits of home broadband on the move.”

Based on over 308,548 fixed line broadband speed tests, Broadband expert found an average fixed line broadband speed of 3.16 Mbs, whereas in 5,345 tests, mobile broadband clocked an average speed of just 1.57 Mbs.

The difference in speeds has grown considerably since the beginning of the year, due to an increase in speed of fixed line services. Where home broadband is now 0.66Mbs faster than it was in February 2008, mobile broadband speeds have improved by just 0.1Mbs in this time.

Broadband Expert Technical Director, William Harvey, puts the increase I fixed line speeds down to improvement in technology and growing consumer demands.

Harvey says that broadband providers are “phasing out slower services with many providers entry level packages starting at up to 8Mb and a number of providers upgrading customers on slower services free of charge”.

He continues: “whilst we are looking to make more and more of our broadband connections with the growth of online video, music downloads and online gaming the demand for faster broadband connections will continue to grow”.

Harvey expects that the gap between fixed-line and mobile broadband will continue to grow, as home broadband providers continue to pour money into updating their networks.