Island still trails UK on the Net

GUERNSEY still lags behind the UK when it comes to internet access. While London's broadband users can go online at an average broadband speed of 4.5 megabits per second, those in Guernsey have to put up with a maximum of 2Mbps, depending how close they are to an exchange.

That speed is still below the average of 2.3Mbps in Northern Ireland, the region of the UK that fared the worst in a thinkbroadband.com investigation for BBC News that analysed speed tests from the last two months in 6,000 locations. The UK average was 3.2Mbps.

But Russell Sharman, chief technical officer for Cable & Wireless, said the company's current upgrade of the local broadband network would pave the way for faster internet connections.

'This is not just about providing everyone in Guernsey with speeds of up to 2Mb. By upgrading the existing infrastructure, we are providing the platform for a whole new generation of broadband services in the future, capable of supporting a range of applications. We are developing the next set of plans and the current upgrade is simply the latest phase.'