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UK Digital Dead Zone 2025: The best and worst-connected cities revealed

Broadband has become as essential as electricity – powering how we work, study, stream and stay in touch. But not every part of the UK is keeping up.

Our brand-new Digital Dead Zone Index reveals where connectivity thrives and where it still falls short. Leading the way are Portsmouth, St Albans, Dundee, Milton Keynes and Stoke-on-Trent – all proving that strong investment and fibre upgrades really do make a difference.

At the bottom? Bangor (Wales), Chichester, Stirling, St Davids and Inverness, where old infrastructure and tricky terrain are still holding residents back.

“We built the Digital Dead Zone Index to show what’s really going on behind the UK’s broadband stats. It reveals where progress is happening and where people are still being left behind,” says Geoff Pestell, CEO of Fibre Compare.

What the index measures

To give a clear, fair picture, the Digital Dead Zone Index pulls together the latest Ofcom and government data on broadband and mobile coverage, blending it into one easy-to-compare score.

Each factor is weighted by importance:

Broadband quality and availability – 40%
Reliability and outages – 25%
Mobile coverage (4G & 5G) – 20%
Gigabit broadband access – 15%

The result? A simple ranking that shows where it’s easiest (and hardest) to stay connected.

CITY	SUPERFAST AVAILABILITY %	ULTRAFAST 100 AVAILABILITY %	ULTRAFAST AVAILABILITY %	GIGABIT AVAILABILITY %	FULL FIBRE AVAILABILITY %	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	Average Upload Speed (Mbps)	4G Coverage (% of homes / premises)	5G Coverage (% of homes / premises)	Estimated % of Users with Frequent Signal Loss	Estimated Outage Reports (per 1,000 users)	New Dead Zone Score	1 = Worst
Bangor (Wales)	93	59	58	57	57	287	38	20	75	10	40	73	1
Chichester	95	65	63	64	64	290	107	20	80	9	39	63	2
Stirling	95	69	68	68	68	283	199	20	80	9	45	62	3
St Davids	95	63	63	63	64	270	41	20	67	8	25	62	4
Inverness	89	62	62	62	62	316	32	20	80	12	12	61	5
Winchester	94	63	64	63	42	304	49	20	80	6	31	61	6
Bangor (Northern Ireland)	93	71	69	68	68	287	38	20	75	10	27	60	7
Wrexham	97	71	71	70	70	303	36	20	67	8	25	53	8
Salisbury	97	78	78	78	74	305	42	20	80	7	40	52	9
Canterbury	94	70	70	70	70	271	54	20	80	10	12	51	10
Bath	97	83	80	78	68	303	110	20	80	4	49	51	11
Dunfermline	99	83	83	83	82	304	80	33	75	10	45	51	12
Oxford	96	86	82	79	34	315	36	50	75	9	25	49	13
Plymouth	98	95	95	94	68	312	46	20	80	9	48	49	14
Liverpool	97	93	92	91	84	309	50	25	50	6	48	49	15
Lichfield	98	85	85	84	74	307	38	20	80	10	33	49	16
Truro	91	60	60	60	60	286	41	20	80	7	14	48	17
Westminster	96	86	88	86	84	288	212	50	0	5	41	48	18
Colchester	98	83	83	83	55	307	82	20	80	6	37	48	19
York	98	92	91	90	84	289	110	20	80	9	43	47	20
Preston	99	88	87	87	64	305	66	20	80	7	40	47	21
Newry	98	91	91	91	91	307	42	20	80	8	45	46	22
Newcastle-upon-Tyne	99	95	94	94	88	301	75	25	75	8	48	45	23
Durham	98	80	79	79	77	304	39	20	80	8	27	45	24
Edinburgh	99	94	93	93	81	302	94	20	80	7	47	44	25
Hereford	95	83	82	83	83	297	158	20	80	9	25	43	26
Brighton & Hove	98	90	87	84	53	310	58	20	80	8	23	43	27
Swansea	99	91	91	90	78	309	36	20	80	7	36	42	28
Bristol	98	95	95	95	80	309	51	20	75	6	41	42	29
Exeter	97	91	91	91	78	308	36	20	75	9	27	41	30
Gloucester	99	94	94	94	46	310	61	25	75	9	27	41	31
Wells	97	82	81	79	73	290	111	20	80	8	18	41	32
Glasgow	99	95	95	94	90	300	100	20	67	9	36	40	33
Nottingham	99	97	96	96	73	306	67	33	67	8	36	40	34
Wakefield	99	96	96	96	94	304	53	20	80	10	37	40	35
Lincoln	96	91	91	91	84	307	69	33	75	8	32	40	36
Doncaster	99	93	92	92	88	299	80	20	80	8	37	39	37
Sunderland	99	94	93	93	64	309	55	25	80	10	25	39	38
Salford	98	93	93	92	82	304	79	33	75	7	37	39	39
Coventry	99	97	97	97	96	295	126	20	75	10	36	38	40
Sheffield	98	94	94	93	90	300	87	20	80	11	25	38	41
Peterborough	99	95	95	95	93	292	167	20	80	9	39	38	42
Norwich	100	95	94	93	74	307	48	33	75	10	27	38	43
Carlisle	96	86	86	85	79	284	53	20	80	10	6	38	44
Londonderry	97	92	92	92	92	297	38	20	80	9	20	37	45
Leicester	100	98	98	98	93	301	93	33	67	9	35	36	46
Chelmsford	98	86	85	84	75	302	60	20	80	9	9	35	47
Newport	99	92	92	92	81	307	42	20	80	8	21	35	48
Armagh	99	94	94	94	94	286	43	20	80	6	30	35	49
London	94	86	86	86	84	283	221	100	0	9	8	35	50
Manchester	96	91	90	90	83	295	122	33	50	9	10	35	51
Bradford	99	94	93	92	81	290	118	20	80	7	23	34	52
Birmingham	98	96	95	95	79	309	52	25	80	8	23	34	53
Southampton	99	97	96	95	89	280	154	50	75	6	38	33	54
Cardiff	99	95	95	94	83	307	47	20	75	8	20	33	55
Belfast	100	97	97	98	94	308	35	20	75	5	34	33	56
Chester	97	87	85	84	83	299	53	20	80	6	9	32	57
Kingston-upon-Hull	100	100	100	100	100	252	99	33	50	7	22	32	58
Cambridge	99	96	96	95	88	295	129	25	75	10	19	31	59
Perth	100	95	95	95	82	305	125	33	50	8	16	30	60
Wolverhampton	100	98	98	98	94	302	82	33	67	6	29	30	61
Ripon	100	95	95	95	82	305	125	33	50	7	16	29	62
Lancaster	99	92	90	90	88	297	125	20	80	7	15	29	63
Worcester	100	93	92	92	92	288	113	33	67	9	12	29	64
Derby	100	98	98	97	86	305	68	50	75	8	25	28	65
Ely	99	93	93	93	81	307	71	33	67	7	11	28	66
Leeds	99	96	96	96	92	301	83	20	80	6	18	27	67
Aberdeen	98	92	92	91	91	286	190	20	80	9	10	27	68
Lisburn	100	98	98	98	97	285	123	20	80	6	21	26	69
Southend-on-Sea	100	99	98	98	97	294	145	33	75	10	17	26	70
Stoke on Trent	99	97	97	96	84	303	136	20	80	9	10	26	71
Milton Keynes	100	96	96	95	95	287	186	20	80	7	20	26	72
Dundee	100	97	96	96	84	304	80	33	75	7	12	24	73
St Albans	99	95	95	94	80	309	40	20	80	5	8	23	74
Portsmouth	99	98	97	97	77	300	119	50	67	5	16	23	75

The UK’s best-connected cities

Portsmouth takes the top spot thanks to heavy investment from CityFibre, Vodafone, TalkTalk, and the government’s Project Gigabit scheme. Near-universal full-fibre access and minimal outages make it one of the most reliable digital hubs in the country.

Dundee is close behind, boosted by Scotland’s R100 programme and extra BDUK funding – helping operators like Openreach and Virgin Media O2 extend ultrafast fibre across the city.

In St Albans, demand from hybrid commuters has driven Openreach’s rapid full-fibre rollout, while strong 5G coverage from multiple mobile networks keeps residents connected on the move.

Stoke-on-Trent benefited from its city council’s ‘Silicon Stoke’ initiative, which accelerated broadband upgrades throughout the city. And, again thanks to a proactive council, Milton Keynes took an early adoption of ‘Gigabit City’ status and secured strategic investment by multiple network operators.

CITY	FULL FIBRE AVAILABILITY %	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	5G Coverage (% of homes / premises)	Estimated % of Users with Frequent Signal Loss	Estimated Outage Reports (per 1,000 users)	Dead Zone Score	Ranking 75 = Best
Portsmouth	77	300	67	5	16	23	75
St Albans	80	309	80	5	8	23	74
Dundee	84	304	75	7	12	24	73
Milton Keynes	95	287	80	7	20	26	72
Stoke on Trent	84	303	80	9	10	26	71
Southend-on-Sea	97	294	75	10	17	26	70
Lisburn	97	285	80	6	21	26	69
Aberdeen	91	286	80	9	10	27	68
Leeds	92	301	80	6	18	27	67
Ely	81	307	67	7	11	28	66

The UK’s worst-connected cities

Sadly, not everywhere is enjoying such fast, flawless connectivity.

Bangor (Wales) ranks lowest. Much of the area still depends on older copper-based lines, and 5G coverage drops quickly outside the city centre.

Chichester and Stirling both face similar challenges: historic centres, older buildings and conservation zones that make fibre upgrades difficult.

Meanwhile, St Davids – the UK’s smallest city – struggles with geography. Its rugged Pembrokeshire coastline means mobile coverage is patchy and fibre builds are slow.

“Some areas are held back by geography, planning restrictions or lack of commercial incentive,” explains Geoff. “That’s why targeted investment programmes are so vital.”

CITY	FULL FIBRE AVAILABILITY %	Average Download Speed (Mbps)	5G Coverage (% of homes / premises)	Estimated % of Users with Frequent Signal Loss	Estimated Outage Reports (per 1,000 users)	Dead Zone Score	Ranking 1 = Worst
Bangor (Wales)	57	287	75	10	40	73	1
Chichester	64	290	80	9	39	63	2
Stirling	68	283	80	9	45	62	3
St Davids	64	270	67	8	25	62	4
Inverness	62	316	80	12	12	61	5
Winchester	42	304	80	6	31	61	6
Bangor (Northern Ireland)	68	287	75	10	27	60	7
Wrexham	70	303	67	8	25	53	8
Salisbury	74	305	80	7	40	52	9
Canterbury	70	271	80	10	12	51	10

Why it matters

From home offices and online classes to Netflix nights and small business websites, almost everything we do depends on a solid internet connection. When it drops, we lose more than patience – it can mean missed calls, deadlines, or even income.

And the divide is growing. Cities with strong broadband attract new talent, remote workers and investment, while those left in the slow lane risk falling behind.

At Fibre Compare, we believe fast, reliable broadband shouldn’t depend on your postcode. Every household deserves a fair connection.

The tech behind the speeds

Full fibre (FTTP) – fibre runs all the way to your home for consistently high speeds.
Gigabit broadband – download speeds of 1,000 Mbit/s or more, this can be delivered by full fibre or HFC networks
HFC cable – Virgin Media 02’s fibre-and-coax mix offering ultrafast performance (despite the high speeds, it can’t be officially classed as ‘full fibre’).
FTTC (VDSL) – fibre to your street cabinet, copper the rest of the way, typically can only go up to 80 Mbps max.

Check your area

Curious how your city ranks? Explore the full Digital Dead Zone Index and see whether your postcode is powering ahead, or still waiting to catch up.

“Broadband used to be a luxury,” adds Geoff. “Now it’s a lifeline – for work, learning, and staying connected to the people who matter most.”

Methodology:

The Digital Dead Zone Index ranks UK towns and cities on how well they stay connected, by combining Ofcom and government data on broadband, mobile coverage and reliability into a single score. The analysis by Fibre Compare looks at the availability of superfast, ultrafast, full fibre and gigabit broadband, average download and upload speeds, mobile 4G and 5G coverage, and reliability factors such as outage reports and signal loss.

Each factor is weighted by importance, with broadband quality and availability making up (50%) included in the 50% is superfast (10%), ultrafast (10%), full fibre (10%), gigabit (10%), download speed (5%) and upload speed (5%), followed by mobile coverage (20%) made up of 4G (10%) 5G (10%) and reliability (30%) which is signal loss (10%) Outages (20%).

Index Score = (Superfast_N x 0.10) + (Ultrafast_N x 0.10) + (FullFibre_N x 0.10) + (Download_N x 0.05) + (Upload_N x 0.05) + (Gigabit_N x 0.10) + (4G}_N x 0.10) + (5G_N x 0.10) + (SignalLoss_N x 0.10) + (Outages_N x 0.20).
Normalised values to a 0-100 scale using min-max.
Value = (X-Xmin) / (Xmax-Xmin) x 100.
Weighting = Normalised value x metric weight.

For example to get the Superfast score you would multiply the normalised score by 0.10 because that counts for 10% of the overall score.

Data Sources:

Ofcom fixed coverage and full fibre ('Ofcom Connected Nations Update: Spring 2025')
Ofcom fixed coverage postcodes ('Ofcom Connected Nations Update: Spring 2025')
Ofcom mobile coverage ('Ofcom Connected Nations Update: Spring 2025')
Downdetector
Openreach
Gov.uk
CityFibre

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