London has claimed bragging rights over big city rivals Birmingham and Manchester when it comes to broadband speed, according to a survey produced by the UK’s leading broadband comparison website Top10.com (http://top10.com/)

With an average broadband speed of 7.54Mb across the capital, London just saw off the challenge of Birmingham (6.7Mb) and Manchester (7.2Mb).

West Central London was the slowest area in the city with an average speed of 6.73Mb while East Central London topped the leaderboard for the fastest average broadband speed in mainland Britain with a swift 9.06Mb.

Full breakdown of London’s fast broadband speed by postcode:

• N – 8.52Mb
• NW – 7.2Mb
• E – 6.56Mb
• EC – 9.06Mb
• W – 8.19Mb
• WC – 6.73Mb
• SW – 6.96Mb
• S – 7.12Mb

The Top10.com analysis also shed light on how broadband speeds fluctuate throughout the day; the fastest time for web browsing is 2AM with an average speed of 7Mb, while the slowest time is 8PM when only a sluggish 4.73Mb is achieved on average.

For this recent nationwide report, Top10.com carried out over 250,000 speed tests on its website between April and June 2010 to calculate average speeds for all UK postcodes.

Alex Buttle from Top10.com said: “Our speed test data shows just how much broadband speeds vary depending on where you live. The broadband speed you receive depends on a huge variety of factors including your internet provider, distance from the nearest telephone exchange, time of day and even the quality of your home’s wiring.”

To find out your broadband speed, visit Top10.com’s broadband channel at http://top10.com/broadband/ and to see the best broadband speeds on your street, visit Top10.com’s StreetStats at http://top10.com/streetstats/