A new report by Ofcom has revealed the alarming statistic that 27 per cent of UK households have no broadband internet connection while 18 per cent have no internet connection of any kind, including mobile.
The shocking statistic is part of a wider report on UK broadband infrastructure in 2014 showing that despite this, average download speeds in the UK are now at 23Mbit/s.
The biggest development however is that superfast internet (30Mbit/s) is now available to over 75 per cent of the UK.
Interestingly though the report points out that despite this, only 21 per cent of those houses actually opted for a superfast connection.
Ofcom's report lambast's BT's superfast broadband solution saying that in some areas its 'Fibre to the Cabinet' technology is ineffectual because the distance between the house and the cabinet are too great to support speeds of 30Mbit/s and upwards.
The report also points out that one area where more work needs to take place is in upload speeds. The national average for upload speeds is only 3Mbit/s, a tiny amount compared to the national download which is 23Mbit/s.
Upload speeds are vital to supporting small businesses while for consumers they're key to features like video-calling and online gaming as well as uploading videos and imagery to online services.
The report then also recommends that more work is needed to cure the problem of both city and rural 'not-spots' where gaps between exchanges are causing slower internet speeds.