HITCHIN: When it comes to working from home or streaming films there aren't many things that are more maddening than a slow broadband connection.

Hitchin Nub News has been analysing the latest government data in terms of connectivity relating to our constituency (Hitchin and Harpenden) - and the findings are stark depending on where you live in our town and surrounding areas as you can see from the government table we have reproduced.

The flip side is that dodgy broadband is not so much of a problem if you live certain postcodes and areas.

For example, if you reside in Hitchin Highbury (average download speed MBPS 107) or Hitchin Walsworth (108.3) you are lucky enough to be in the top 10 per cent in the whole of the UK for average download speeds. Which is nice. But you'll still lagging far behind residents in Harpenden East with a whopping 118 MBPS.

The other end of the scale, people living in Ickleford, Great Offley and Whitwell only receive speeds of 69.9 MBPS, almost half as fast.

Sadly in the 'Superfast' category, Ickleford, Great Offley and Whitwell also fall into the worst 30 per cent in the UK.

And there's worse to come, in the government category listed as 'Unable to receive decent broadband' Ickleford, Great Offley and Whitwell fall into the worst 10 per cent in the UK.

Hitchin MP Bim Afolami said recently: "As constituents will know, I have been working hard to secure the roll-out of full fibre gigabit broadband across Hitchin, Harpenden and our villages."

In July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to deliver full-fibre to 'every home in the land' by 2025.

However, without fanfare the government quietly downgraded the target to 85 per cent of the UK, according to an infrastructure report in November.

The report said: "The government is working with industry to target a minimum of 85 per cent gigabit capable coverage by 2025, but will seek to accelerate roll-out further to get as close to 100 per cent as possible.

"The government will continue to implement an ambitious programme of work to remove barriers to broadband deployment and maximise coverage in the hardest to reach areas of the country."

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