Portsmouth Broadband Statistics
Portsmouth has the third-lowest fibre access out of all major cities in the South East, and is among the 20 worst-off major cities in terms of fibre access across the UK as a whole. Our analysis of Ofcom coverage data shows that Gigabit fibre is available to 19% of residents. UltraFast 300+ Mbps is available to 94% of residents, while SuperFast 30+ Mbps broadband is available to 98% of Portsmouth's households.
Despite poor broadband infrastructure, we see very high speed test averages in Portsmouth postcodes like PO6, PO1, PO2, PO4, and PO5. Over the past year, we’ve recorded a 50 Mbps median internet speed in Portsmouth, which is 36% above the United Kingdom national median of 37 Mbps.
Portsmouth increased access to Gigabit speeds by 17 percentage points in the past year. The buildout rate is also better than neighbouring major cities like Brighton (gained 10 percentate points) and Gillingham (gained 2.63 percentate points).
Local broadband speeds over time
The median broadband speed in Portsmouth has increased by 85% over the last five years.
Local broadband speeds in context
As of 2022, the median broadband speed in Portsmouth is 23% higher than the South East and 26% higher than the UK overall.
| Portsmouth | 50 Mbps | |
| South East | 39 Mbps | |
| United Kingdom | 37 Mbps |
Portsmouth 2022 Broadband Scorecard
▼ 3rd lowest fibre access
Major Cities, South East
▲ 23% above regional broadband speed
South East
▲ 26% above national broadband speed
UK Overall
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Broadband Providers
Overall Performance
We rank each provider relative to all providers in The United Kingdom based on their median download and upload speeds, measured round trip time latencies, and the percentage of speeds tests that exceed 50 Mbps.
Customer Ratings
Customer ratings are based on local reviews matched to Portsmouth IP addresses. Providers can be scored on a range of 1 to 10, and ranked relative to all providers in The United Kingdom.
Median Speed Test Result
The median is the middle result in the range of tests we measured for each provider in Portsmouth in the past year. Median speeds provide a better comparison than raw averages because they control for the longtail of tests related to Wi-Fi issues. The charts below represent the distribution of tests associated with each provider from low to high.
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Broadband Network Infrastructure in Portsmouth
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Ofcom Fibre Access Analysis for Portsmouth
See the chart below for annual reporting on fibre build rates in the Portsmouth area. Availability is based on population in postcodes marked as served by Ofcom Connected Nations reports, according to the most recent census.
| 1,000+ Mbps | 300+ Mbps | 30+ Mbps | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18.58% | 94.48% | 98.14% |
| 2020 | 1.85% | 93.64% | 98.34% |
| 2019 | 1.55% | 90.89% | 98.56% |
| 2018 | 1.02% | 80.63% | 98.17% |
| 2017 | 0.00% | 39.29% | 97.33% |
| 2016 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 97.14% |
Map of Portsmouth's Fibre Broadband Availability by Postcode
Gigabit Availability
18.58%
of people living in Portsmouth can obtain to 1,000+ Mbps broadband speeds
Ultrafast Speeds
94.48%
of Portsmouth residents can get 300+ Mbps internet service
Superfast 30+ Mbps Broadband
98.14%
availability in Portsmouth
Poor Broadband Speeds
1.48%
of Portsmouth is limited to broadband speeds under 30 Mbps
Portsmouth Broadband Speeds Report
Average Broadband Speeds in Portsmouth
| Year | Portsmouth Average | United Kingdom Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 32.53 Mbps | 26.27 Mbps | 23.83% Faster |
| 2019 | 43.15 Mbps | 30.63 Mbps | 40.87% Faster |
| 2020 | 120.21 Mbps | 80.31 Mbps | 49.68% Faster |
| 2021 | 91.36 Mbps | 66.05 Mbps | 38.32% Faster |
Portsmouth Broadband Speed Distribution
| Percentage of Speed Tests in Speed Range | ||
|---|---|---|
| Internet Speed Range | Portsmouth | United Kingdom |
| Very Slow: under 10 Mbps | 19.63% | 19.92% |
| Slow: 10-30 Mbps | 19.34% | 25.74% |
| Adequate: 30-60 Mbps | 17.12% | 25.20% |
| Good: 60-80 Mbps | 7.96% | 10.20% |
| Fast: 80-300 Mbps | 29.41% | 15.33% |
| Very Fast: over 300 Mbps | 6.55% | 3.60% |
How Portsmouth Compares to Major Cities
| City / Town | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range | Median | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 940.31 Mbps | 33.84—147.67 Mbps | 50 Mbps | - |
| Greater London | 5794.21 Mbps | 33.02—95.86 Mbps | 45.54 Mbps | Slower |
| Birmingham | 941.32 Mbps | 29.29—107 Mbps | 38.47 Mbps | Slower |
| Liverpool | 1134.53 Mbps | 25.52—89.6 Mbps | 34.58 Mbps | Slower |
| Nottingham | 2371.49 Mbps | 16.2—40.46 Mbps | 19.1 Mbps | Slower |
| Sheffield | 932.42 Mbps | 23.73—68.81 Mbps | 32.06 Mbps | Slower |
| Bristol | 943.13 Mbps | 30.35—109.9 Mbps | 42.28 Mbps | Slower |
| Glasgow | 913.93 Mbps | 20.58—71.34 Mbps | 32 Mbps | Slower |
| Leicester | 935.89 Mbps | 27.45—99.24 Mbps | 37 Mbps | Slower |
| Edinburgh | 874.24 Mbps | 29.96—107.47 Mbps | 38.02 Mbps | Slower |
Portsmouth Broadband Speeds Over Time
We class broadband speed distributions as follows: very slow under 10 Mbps; slow 10-30 Mbps; adequate 30-60 Mbps; good 60-80 Mbps; fast 80-300 Mbps; very fast over 300 Mbps.
How Portsmouth Compares for Internet Speed in Portsmouth
| Position | City / Town | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range | Median | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth | 940.31 Mbps | 33.84—147.67 Mbps | 50 Mbps | - |
Portsmouth Internet Speed Test Results
We analysed the results of people in Portsmouth testing broadband providers multiple times, with each test starting no more than 30 minutes after the previous speed test. On average, people in Portsmouth ran 4 internet speed tests per session. Looking at broadband download speeds, if the Portsmouth resident's final test is 10% faster than their starting download speed, we count that as a succesful and faster speed test result. We count an unsuccessful, slower result if the final result is 10% slower than the starting result; we'd hope their ISP contacts them ASAP! For broadband speed tests that don't vary by that much, we consider the final result to be the same. For Portsmouth's residents, of the internet speed tests we measured, 44.21% were fast, 26.16% slow, and 29.63% broadly the same.
Most Recent Tests
| Provider | Start Time | # Tests | Duration | Start Speed | End Speed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 22:28:16 | 2 | 35 secs | 63.02 Mbps | 15.29 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 22:08:24 | 3 | 13 mins | 105.88 Mbps | 109.13 Mbps | |
| Sky Broadband | 18 Jan 2022 22:15:34 | 2 | 10 secs | 3.81 Mbps | 0.76 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| Sky Broadband | 18 Jan 2022 22:04:44 | 2 | 74 secs | 61.02 Mbps | 36.43 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 21:52:11 | 3 | 12 mins | 111.81 Mbps | 109.97 Mbps | |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 21:51:02 | 2 | 13 mins | 111.22 Mbps | 110.53 Mbps | |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 21:52:47 | 4 | 3 mins | 176.91 Mbps | 201.66 Mbps | Improved |
| BT | 18 Jan 2022 21:42:44 | 3 | 6 mins | 0.16 Mbps | 0.36 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| BT | 18 Jan 2022 21:46:46 | 2 | 22 secs | 0.87 Mbps | 2.61 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| Sky Broadband | 18 Jan 2022 21:38:08 | 2 | 2 mins | 1.36 Mbps | 60.8 Mbps | Improved |
| BT | 18 Jan 2022 21:36:53 | 2 | 19 secs | 5.72 Mbps | 0.46 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| BT | 18 Jan 2022 21:35:44 | 2 | 76 secs | 2.11 Mbps | 1.75 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| BT | 18 Jan 2022 21:33:33 | 4 | 66 secs | 26.35 Mbps | 53.4 Mbps | Improved |
| Sky Broadband | 18 Jan 2022 21:27:39 | 2 | 60 secs | 0.77 Mbps | 65.99 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 21:19:45 | 2 | 28 secs | 37.83 Mbps | 48.05 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 20:27:09 | 11 | 50 mins | 11.29 Mbps | 111.69 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 20:51:04 | 3 | 25 mins | 220.01 Mbps | 225.52 Mbps | |
| Sky Broadband | 18 Jan 2022 21:14:41 | 2 | 80 secs | 0.3 Mbps | 0.1 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 20:25:40 | 2 | 12 secs | 109.95 Mbps | 110.16 Mbps | |
| Virgin Media | 18 Jan 2022 19:15:58 | 5 | 26 mins | 106.32 Mbps | 92.36 Mbps | Needs help |
Summary of Internet Service Providers in Portsmouth
| # | Provider Name | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyperoptic | 506.34 Mbps | 55.84—80.48 Mbps |
| 2 | Glide | 878.1 Mbps | 28.68—123.68 Mbps |
| 3 | Virgin Media | 935.8 Mbps | 51.51—206.51 Mbps |
| 4 | Zen Internet | 713.61 Mbps | 16.11—92.08 Mbps |
| 5 | CIX | 894.97 Mbps | 39.59—87.5 Mbps |
| 6 | Origin Broadband | 93.84 Mbps | 81.68—85.37 Mbps |
| 7 | CCS Leeds | 186.99 Mbps | 33.27—96.76 Mbps |
| 8 | uno | 137.03 Mbps | 30.99—73.73 Mbps |
| 9 | BT | 902.22 Mbps | 15.41—62.19 Mbps |
| 10 | Andrews & Arnold | 95.96 Mbps | 15.39—64.33 Mbps |
| 11 | TalkTalk | 276.75 Mbps | 28.55—69.74 Mbps |
| 12 | EE | 499.42 Mbps | 15.04—53.65 Mbps |
| 13 | Vodafone | 507.22 Mbps | 21.43—49.1 Mbps |
| 14 | Sky Broadband | 505.01 Mbps | 12.65—49.8 Mbps |
| 15 | Spitfire | 55.11 Mbps | 7.75—16.52 Mbps |
| 16 | Plusnet | 74.66 Mbps | 4.3—33.58 Mbps |
| 17 | Shell Energy | 73.91 Mbps | 7.01—32.46 Mbps |
Frequently Asked Questions about Internet Providers in Portsmouth
How many broadband providers in Portsmouth are there?
Portsmouth has 17 ISPs tested by its 215,133 residents.
Who is the fastest broadband provider in Portsmouth?
Origin Broadband is the fastest broadband provider in Portsmouth with 93.84 Mbps, and an average internet speed range of 81.68—85.37 Mbps.
Who is the best internet provider in Portsmouth?
The best internet provider in Portsmouth is Virgin Media, and their users typically see broadband speeds in the range of 51.51 to 206.51 Mbps.
What is the average internet speed in Portsmouth?
Users in Portsmouth see an average internet speed of 33.84 up to 206 Mbps, and the fastest speed we've seen is 940.31 Mbps.
Is Virgin Media available in Portsmouth?
Broadband service from Virgin Media is available in Portsmouth, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 935.8 Mbps.
Is Sky Broadband available in Portsmouth?
Broadband service from Sky Broadband is available in Portsmouth, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 505.01 Mbps.
Is BT available in Portsmouth?
Broadband service from BT is available in Portsmouth, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 902.22 Mbps.
Is BT full fibre available in Portsmouth?
Yes, BT offers full fibre to the home (also called FTTH or FTTP) to 95 of Portsmouth's postcodes.
Who is the most popular broadband provider in Portsmouth?
The broadband provider with the most users in Portsmouth is Virgin Media.
Author: Thomas Buck
Last Reviewed By: Tyler Cooper
Published: 10 Nov 2019
Last Updated: 18 Jan 2022