South Shields Broadband Statistics
South Shields has the third-lowest fibre access out of all major towns in the North East, and is among the 20 worst-off major towns in terms of fibre access across the UK as a whole. Our analysis of Ofcom coverage data shows that Gigabit fibre is available to only 0.87% of residents. UltraFast 300+ Mbps is available to 79% of residents, while SuperFast 30+ Mbps broadband is available to 99% of South Shields's households.
Despite poor broadband infrastructure, we see high speed test averages in South Shields postcodes like NE34, NE33, NE32, NE31, and NE36. Over the past year, we’ve recorded a 43.9 Mbps median internet speed in South Shields, which is 19% above the United Kingdom national median of 37 Mbps.
South Shields increased access to Gigabit speeds by 0.47 percentage points in the past year. The buildout rate is also better than neighbouring major towns like Darlington (gained 0.38 percentate points) and Redcar (lost 0.06 percentage points).
Local broadband speeds over time
The median broadband speed in South Shields has increased by 79% over the last five years.
Local broadband speeds in context
As of 2022, the median broadband speed in South Shields is 21% higher than the North East and 16% higher than the UK overall.
| South Shields | 44 Mbps | |
| North East | 35 Mbps | |
| United Kingdom | 37 Mbps |
South Shields 2022 Broadband Scorecard
▼ 3rd lowest fibre access
Major Towns, North East
▲ 21% above regional broadband speed
North East
▲ 16% 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 South Shields 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 South Shields 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 South Shields
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Ofcom Fibre Access Analysis for South Shields
See the chart below for annual reporting on fibre build rates in the South Shields 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 | 0.87% | 78.95% | 98.63% |
| 2020 | 0.40% | 78.52% | 98.53% |
| 2019 | 0.16% | 75.76% | 98.67% |
| 2018 | 0.16% | 79.28% | 97.94% |
| 2017 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 95.43% |
| 2016 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 92.56% |
Map of South Shields's Fibre Broadband Availability by Postcode
Gigabit Availability
None
of people living in South Shields can obtain to 1,000+ Mbps broadband speeds
Ultrafast Speeds
78.95%
of South Shields residents can get 300+ Mbps internet service
Superfast 30+ Mbps Broadband
98.63%
availability in South Shields
Poor Broadband Speeds
1.36%
of South Shields is limited to broadband speeds under 30 Mbps
South Shields Broadband Speeds Report
Average Broadband Speeds in South Shields
| Year | South Shields Average | United Kingdom Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 26.54 Mbps | 26.27 Mbps | 1.03% Faster |
| 2019 | 27.24 Mbps | 30.63 Mbps | 11.07% Slower |
| 2020 | 84.8 Mbps | 80.31 Mbps | 5.59% Faster |
| 2021 | 71.48 Mbps | 66.05 Mbps | 8.22% Faster |
South Shields Broadband Speed Distribution
| Percentage of Speed Tests in Speed Range | ||
|---|---|---|
| Internet Speed Range | South Shields | United Kingdom |
| Very Slow: under 10 Mbps | 20.05% | 19.92% |
| Slow: 10-30 Mbps | 21.37% | 25.74% |
| Adequate: 30-60 Mbps | 22.12% | 25.20% |
| Good: 60-80 Mbps | 8.28% | 10.20% |
| Fast: 80-300 Mbps | 25.20% | 15.33% |
| Very Fast: over 300 Mbps | 2.98% | 3.60% |
How South Shields Compares to Major Cities
| City / Town | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range | Median | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater London | 5794.21 Mbps | 33.04—95.97 Mbps | 45.56 Mbps | Faster |
| South Shields | 771.85 Mbps | 32.31—106.12 Mbps | 43.9 Mbps | - |
| Birmingham | 2786.06 Mbps | 29.31—107.04 Mbps | 38.5 Mbps | Slower |
| Liverpool | 1134.53 Mbps | 25.56—89.74 Mbps | 34.61 Mbps | Slower |
| Nottingham | 2371.49 Mbps | 16.11—40.25 Mbps | 18.99 Mbps | Slower |
| Sheffield | 934.82 Mbps | 23.76—68.87 Mbps | 32.08 Mbps | Slower |
| Bristol | 943.13 Mbps | 30.38—109.93 Mbps | 42.32 Mbps | Slower |
| Glasgow | 913.93 Mbps | 20.63—71.33 Mbps | 32 Mbps | Slower |
| Leicester | 935.89 Mbps | 27.47—99.31 Mbps | 37.03 Mbps | Slower |
| Edinburgh | 874.24 Mbps | 29.96—107.51 Mbps | 38.06 Mbps | Slower |
South Shields 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 South Shields Compares for Internet Speed in South Tyneside
| Position | City / Town | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range | Median | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Shields | 771.85 Mbps | 32.31—106.12 Mbps | 43.9 Mbps | - |
South Shields Internet Speed Test Results
We analysed the results of people in South Shields testing broadband providers multiple times, with each test starting no more than 30 minutes after the previous speed test. On average, people in South Shields ran 4 internet speed tests per session. Looking at broadband download speeds, if the South Shields 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 South Shields's residents, of the internet speed tests we measured, 43.26% were fast, 23.7% slow, and 33.04% broadly the same.
Most Recent Tests
| Provider | Start Time | # Tests | Duration | Start Speed | End Speed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 23:15:32 | 3 | 3 mins | 41.76 Mbps | 28.78 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 23:14:01 | 2 | 4 mins | 5.63 Mbps | 180.88 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 22:05:08 | 4 | 4 mins | 2.13 Mbps | 42.62 Mbps | Improved |
| Sky Broadband | 20 Jan 2022 22:03:56 | 5 | 117 secs | 49.33 Mbps | 59.54 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 21:36:01 | 2 | 22 mins | 146.05 Mbps | 223.7 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 21:53:58 | 2 | 34 secs | 189.8 Mbps | 183.96 Mbps | |
| EE | 20 Jan 2022 21:38:47 | 7 | 3 mins | 4.64 Mbps | 54.08 Mbps | Improved |
| BT | 20 Jan 2022 20:57:11 | 2 | 7 mins | 158.62 Mbps | 123.08 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 19:38:28 | 2 | 36 secs | 37.88 Mbps | 39.42 Mbps | |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 18:58:38 | 2 | 29 secs | 15.27 Mbps | 20.88 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 18:18:20 | 4 | 25 mins | 15.88 Mbps | 23.46 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 18:40:33 | 3 | 2 mins | 30.5 Mbps | 58.01 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 18:01:12 | 5 | 8 mins | 2.61 Mbps | 48.9 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 17:47:55 | 3 | 73 secs | 39.77 Mbps | 40.63 Mbps | |
| Sky Broadband | 20 Jan 2022 17:37:13 | 2 | 14 secs | 7.94 Mbps | 4.96 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 17:27:50 | 2 | 56 secs | 129.49 Mbps | 167.3 Mbps | Improved |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 17:15:43 | 2 | 37 secs | 74.43 Mbps | 11.06 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 17:15:37 | 2 | 27 secs | 42.64 Mbps | 36.84 Mbps | Needs help |
| Virgin Media | 20 Jan 2022 16:26:41 | 2 | 6 mins | 51.42 Mbps | 53.16 Mbps | |
| Sky Broadband | 20 Jan 2022 16:08:30 | 5 | 6 mins | 0.42 Mbps | 3.6 Mbps | Needs help, very slow |
Summary of Internet Service Providers in South Shields
| # | Provider Name | Max Speed | Typical Speed Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virgin Media | 724.99 Mbps | 52.62—163.48 Mbps |
| 2 | CIX | 203.71 Mbps | 12.94—110.99 Mbps |
| 3 | BT | 771.85 Mbps | 17.86—60.32 Mbps |
| 4 | uno | 73.16 Mbps | 13.59—71.82 Mbps |
| 5 | TalkTalk | 491.16 Mbps | 24.54—56.74 Mbps |
| 6 | Vodafone | 552.26 Mbps | 32.53—54.15 Mbps |
| 7 | EE | 276 Mbps | 17.88—49.87 Mbps |
| 8 | Sky Broadband | 422.2 Mbps | 10.22—45.19 Mbps |
| 9 | Plusnet | 73.86 Mbps | 12.12—34.32 Mbps |
| 10 | Shell Energy | 63.88 Mbps | 13.53—33.89 Mbps |
| 11 | Zen Internet | 49.03 Mbps | 1.27—5.71 Mbps |
Frequently Asked Questions about Internet Providers in South Shields
How many broadband providers in South Shields are there?
South Shields has 11 ISPs tested by its 83,655 residents.
Who is the fastest broadband provider in South Shields?
Virgin Media is the fastest broadband provider in South Shields with 724.99 Mbps, and an average internet speed range of 52.62—163.48 Mbps.
Who is the best internet provider in South Shields?
The best internet provider in South Shields is Virgin Media, and their users typically see broadband speeds in the range of 52.62 to 163.48 Mbps.
What is the average internet speed in South Shields?
Users in South Shields see an average internet speed of 32.31 up to 477 Mbps, and the fastest speed we've seen is 771.85 Mbps.
Is Virgin Media available in South Shields?
Broadband service from Virgin Media is available in South Shields, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 724.99 Mbps.
Is BT available in South Shields?
Broadband service from BT is available in South Shields, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 771.85 Mbps.
Is TalkTalk available in South Shields?
Broadband service from TalkTalk is available in South Shields, and the fastest speed we've seen from them is 491.16 Mbps.
Is BT full fibre available in South Shields?
Yes, BT offers full fibre to the home (also called FTTH or FTTP) to 56 of South Shields's postcodes.
Who is the most popular broadband provider in South Shields?
The broadband provider with the most users in South Shields is Virgin Media.
Author: Thomas Buck
Last Reviewed By: Tyler Cooper
Published: 10 Nov 2019
Last Updated: 20 Jan 2022