Uswitch has analysed fibre broadband data and working from home statistics in councils across Great Britain, to pinpoint which local authorities are most ahead or behind with their residents’ access to digital technologies, assigning each area a ‘Digital Divide’ score.
The results suggest that council authorities with a smaller ‘digital divide’ score are more likely to be based in regions with greater economic growth and employment prospects, whereas those with a larger digital divide are more likely to see more limited development, both financially and in residents’ opportunities for employment.
Table 1: The ten councils with the greatest digital divide (greatest to smallest)
| Council | Work from home (any) | Median download speed (Mbps) | Full fibre (% premises FTTP) | Digital divide score |
| Argyll and Bute | 18.0% | 26.7 | 5.8% | 97.9% |
| Highland | 23.5% | 29.7 | 31.9% | 92.9% |
| Copeland | 24.3% | 27.8 | 3.4% | 92.6% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 24.2% | 30.1 | 24.4% | 92.1% |
| Allerdale | 25.0% | 34.8 | 6.9% | 91.7% |
| West Lindsey | 23.8% | 37.7 | 31.4% | 89.9% |
| Moray | 22.0% | 35.8 | 47.3% | 89.6% |
| Stirling | 22.2% | 26.7 | 55.4% | 89.5% |
| Rochdale | 20.0% | 37.1 | 17.3% | 87.2% |
| Neath Port Talbot | 22.3% | 38.0 | 17.6% | 87.2% |
Source: Uswitch.com
Argyll and Bute, which covers the second largest administrative area of all Scottish councils, is the most digitally divided area in Great Britain according to our study. 85.7% of premises have superfast broadband, but only 5.8% of premises have access to full fibre broadband, contributing to the region’s 97.9% digital divide score.
Councils lacking strong, fast broadband connections have a significantly lower rate of home-workers. The workforces of the ten councils with the greatest digital divide only report, on average, 22.5% as working from home, with the two lowest scorers, Argyll and Bute and Rochdale, reporting less than a fifth. Only one of the ten most divided councils, Allerdale, has just over a quarter (25.0%) of people working from home.
The digital divide is unevenly spread across Great Britain, with only one council each from Scotland and Wales in the top 25 least digitally divided areas – the city of Edinburgh (15.6%) and the Vale of Glamorgan (17.3%), respectively. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, 12 of the 25 (48.0%) most digitally divided areas are in Scotland and Wales, the two worst being Scottish councils Highland (92.9%) and Argyll and Bute (97.9%).
Table 1: The ten councils with the smallest digital divide (smallest to greatest)
| Council | Work from home (any) | Median download speed (Mbps) | Full fibre (% premises FTTP) | Digital divide score |
| Lambeth | 53.8% | 58.6 | 64.0% | 6.6% |
| Hackney | 53.2% | 72.6 | 44.7% | 6.7% |
| Wandsworth | 52.4% | 61.8 | 68.2% | 6.7% |
| Thanet | 53.3% | 50.6 | 69.8% | 7.8% |
| Cambridge | 48.5% | 78.9 | 69.4% | 8.2% |
| St Albans | 63.1% | 65.2 | 59.8% | 8.9% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 49.5% | 74.5 | 61.2% | 9.3% |
| Three Rivers | 47.7% | 72.1 | 70.10% | 9.6% |
| Spelthorne | 48.2% | 58.2 | 68.40% | 9.9% |
| Rugby | 52.5% | 69.5 | 48.70% | 10.2% |
Source: Uswitch.com
Conversely, six of the ten councils with the smallest divide – St Albans, Lambeth, Thanet, Hackney, Rugby, and Wandsworth – also rank in the top 20 areas for the highest proportion of working from home. This could suggest that councils with a small digital divide afford their population more hybrid working opportunities.
Lambeth is Great Britain’s local authority with the smallest digital divide. With a digital divide score of only 6.6%, 98.9% of premises in the area have superfast broadband, with over six in ten (64.0%) having access to full fibre.
Uswitch.com fibre broadband expert, Max Beckett, comments on how to get the most out of your connection:
“Our digital divide report shows that regions with a poorer internet connection have less access to digital technology overall, with lower work from home rates and less reliable connections to the internet. Meanwhile, British councils with the smallest digital divide have higher percentages of their workforce able to work remotely.
“With the UK government recently committing £3.5 billion towards their ambition of becoming a scientific and technological superpower, including ‘levelling up’ more areas of the UK to foster better paid jobs and opportunities in these sectors², it is important to ensure people of all backgrounds will benefit from this investment in digital tech.
“If you find your internet connection is disrupting your work day, there are some measures you can take to rectify this:
● Run an internet speed test: Download speeds vary a lot across the country, due to the different networks that are available in different regions. By running a quick speed test you will get a better idea of your current internet speed, and if it’s not at the level that you pay for. If you’re consistently getting a slower speed than what you were promised, get in touch with your provider to see if your connection needs fixing.
● Boost your Wi-Fi signal: When setting up your home office, you may have picked the spot with the best natural light, and made sure to get an appropriate desk and chair. But it’s equally important to consider where your router is situated. It should be placed upright in the middle of your home, unobstructed by walls, objects or furniture. If your home office still can’t get a good Wi-Fi signal, you may need to move it to a room closer to your router, or purchase a Wi-Fi extender to get a stronger connection in every room.
● Plan your heavy usage times: If you need to, you can plan out your work so that heavy internet tasks, such as downloading large files or video calling, happen when there are fewer people at home using the same connection. With others at home there will be greater strain on your speed, so it’s a good idea to ask others to turn off HD streaming during work hours to decrease the demand. But this is only a short term solution, and you may be able to upgrade your speed for a very reasonable price. So you could be better off comparing broadband deals with faster speeds.”
