A WIDENING gulf in broadband speeds between town and country is leaving rural communities languishing behind their urban counterparts.

The average residential UK broadband speed reached 14.7Mbit/s in May 2013, reveals the latest research by the government's telecoms watchdog Ofcom.

Ofcom's latest report into fixed-line residential broadband speeds shows that the average actual UK speed has risen by 22% (2.7Mbit/s) in the six months to May 2013.

It has now increased by 64% (5.7Mbit/s) in the year since May 2012.

The report outlines the differences between broadband speeds delivered in urban, suburban and rural areas – all of which have increased in recent years.

Although average speeds in urban (26.4Mbit/s) and suburban areas (17.9Mbit/s) are highest, speeds in rural areas are increasing at a faster rate than elsewhere (by 69% since May 2012).

But the gap between average download speeds in urban and rural areas has nonetheless widened from 9.5Mbit/s in May 2011 to 16.5Mbit/s in May 2013.

This is due to the lower availability of superfast broadband services in rural areas compared to urban areas, and because ADSL broadband speeds are also generally slower in rural areas.

While the gap between urban and rural speeds is likely to widen in the short term, Ofcom expects it to decline over time, as the availability of superfast broadband increases in rural areas.

The government has committed funding to improve broadband in rural areas. But it recently postponed its target for coverage by two years.

This is now to ensure that 95% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband by 2017/8 and that a minimum service of 2Mbit/s is available to all. Previously the target was 2015.

Ofcom consumer group director Claudio Pollack said: "We are yet to see the full effect of Government measures to improve broadband availability in rural areas, which should also help to boost speeds.

"We also anticipate 4G mobile to have a positive effect on mobile broadband availability across the UK."

With the average household now owning more than three types of internet-connected devices, consumers were demanding more than ever from their broadband service.

The report shows that the average broadband speed has more than quadrupled since Ofcom first began publishing speeds data in November 2008 – an increase of 309% (or 11.1Mbit/s).

Take-up of 'superfast' services and providers' automatically upgrading customers on to faster broadband packages continued to drive the increase in the national average speed.

The proportion of broadband connections classed as superfast – that is, offering headline speeds of 30Mbit/s or more – is increasing.

By May 2013, 19% of residential broadband connections were superfast, up from 14% in November 2012 and more than doubling from 8% over the course of the last year.

Consumers are also choosing to migrate to faster fibre packages.

BT reported that it had 1.3 million fibre broadband connections at the end of March 2013, up from around 550,000 a year earlier.