Northern Ireland Has UK’s Most Consistent Internet Speeds

As a region, Northern Ireland has some of the highest and most consistent internet speeds in the UK. This comes from Parliament data gathered in late 2023, where constituencies were tracked for gigabit availability and average download speeds. Predictably, constituencies around the Belfast Lough reported the best internet quality.

The Internet in Ireland

More than ever, communities depend on the internet for work and other activities, including finding entertainment. The UK at large has committed to lessening digital divides between urban and rural areas, something that the Northern Ireland Assembly has also prioritised. With less area to cover, it has also been more successful in this goal than other devolved governments like those in Scotland and Wales.

Stable internet connections are necessary for users to source information, online retail options and open up new work opportunities. There are also entertainment industries that exist solely online – streaming services being a prominent example. Ireland is also home to some of the world’s largest iGaming groups, where casino games are hosted through websites online. However, if local consumers want to experience live casino games at Betfair, having poor internet speeds could interfere with livestream quality and prohibit them from taking part if they wished to do so. The same applies to services like Netflix or video-sharing sites like YouTube, where lower internet speeds can hinder user experience.

Both the UK Parliament and regional authorities have recognised that reliance on the internet is going to increase. Campaigns to improve internet access and quality have been labelled as digital rights advocacy, and sometimes even a human rights issue, as it will be necessary in the digitally connected world of the future. Fortunately, Northern Ireland seems to be a few steps ahead of the rest of the UK when it comes to stable and accessible internet infrastructure.

Northern Ireland’s Internet Speeds

The Parliament’s internet speed report, which is updated with new figures regularly, tracks many different metrics important to digital rights advocates. However, it’s their national colour map where Northern Ireland’s superior internet infrastructure shines through. 

For gigabit availability, tracking services capable of delivering one gigabit per second, Northern Ireland is the most consistently green mass of land in the UK, signalling consistent 80%+ availability. The rest of the UK is mottled, with coastal and rural places emerging as problem areas with some having worse internet than Mount Everest, Yahoo Finance reports. The cores and fringes of Scotland and Wales also stand out, particularly the Highlands where availability is below 10%.

Per constituency, here is a breakdown of Northern Ireland’s gigabit availability and download speeds.

• Belfast North – 96.1% – 217.7 Mbps 

• Belfast East – 96.1% – 222.4 Mbps

• Belfast West – 95.6% – 223.2 Mbps

• Belfast South – 95.4% – 214.2 Mbps

• North Down – 95.3% – 196.5 Mbps

• Upper Bann – 94.3% – 173.7 Mbps

• Foyle – 94.2% – 197 Mbps

• East Antrim – 93.6% – 188.6 Mbps

• Lagan Valley – 93% – 186.5 Mbps

• South Down – 90.2% – 131.8 Mbps

• Strangford – 89.6% – 165.5 Mbps

• West Tyrone – 89.2% – 123.8 Mbps

• South Antrim – 88.9% – 181.1 Mbps

• Newry and Armagh – 88.3% – 129.2 Mbps

• East Londonderry – 86.9% – 150.4 Mbps

• Mid Ulster – 86.5% – 127.8 Mbps

• Fermanagh and South Tyrone – 83.5% – 117.1 Mbps

Ranging between 83% and 96%, this puts Northern Ireland in a better position than the UK’s other regions. For context, England ranges from 13.9% in North Norfolk to 94.9% in Orpington. In Wales, the Rhondda valleys record 12% availability while nearby Swansea is the region’s highest at 90%+. Unsurprisingly, the Scottish Lowlands around Glasgow and Edinburgh post the best availability percentages while the rest of Scotland suffers.

Northern Ireland’s internet dominance likely comes from several places. First, it’s a smaller region with a flatter topography than some of the UK’s other members. We have also covered concerted efforts by companies like Openreach, which is Northern Ireland’s largest internet provider. The UK government has partnered with Openreach to try and replicate Northern Ireland’s results in other parts of the country.