A Kent internet blackspot has been named the slowest place in the UK for broadband for the second consecutive year.

The city of Canterbury is well-known for its historic Cathedral - but also its frustrating signal speeds.

Experts from Broadband Genie have revealed their 2024 list of the best and worst cities in the country, with Canterbury still bottom of the pile.

They found that on average, residents receive broadband speeds of just 22 megabytes - less than the bare minimum offered by the most basic superfast broadband packages.

Broadband Genie said: “Unfortunately for Canterbury, this is the second consecutive year it’s the UK’s slowest city.

“The area lacks the otherwise widely available Virgin Media and almost a third of premises don’t have access to full fibre broadband. However, other factors can influence the results.

“Faulty infrastructure and wifi connectivity issues can dampen the performance.

“Plus, a lack of awareness of better speeds, unwillingness to pay for an upgrade, and confusing terminology may put off some customers.

“This results in more people staying on slow broadband deals which aren’t fit for purpose.”

The city’s historic Cathedral is often blamed for the bad signal and wifi issues in the High Street, due to restrictions on building anything that obstructs views of the landmark.

But recently, bosses at the Cathedral - the seat of the spiritual head of the Church of England - said they would consider allowing infrastructure to be put on the Grade I-listed building or within its grounds.

There are currently no plans in place, but locals hope this could one day solve their signal woes.

Emily Charlotte, 23, said: “It’s horrendous.

“I appreciate though we are limited because of the Cathedral and I would always put that first above something as trivial as being able to check my Instagram.

“But it is annoying when you are trying to connect with someone or look something up.

“I think I would be OK with it as long as it is not intrusive and ruins our skyline as we are blessed with that.”

Last year, when Canterbury was handed the same bad broadband crown, KentOnline spoke to business owner and councillor Alex Ricketts.

He said: “Unfortunately I'm not surprised by these findings, both as a councillor and someone trying to run a business from home.

“It's something that comes up a lot in conversation with residents, and there's a real sense we're lagging behind on broadband speeds, which this report confirms.

"Residents all over the district are desperate for better broadband provision, and are prepared to pay for it. I'd like to know why service providers don't seem to want to provide a service."

The second slowest place for Broadband was Ripon in North Yorkshire, followed by Perth in Scotland.

The fastest city in the UK for broadband was Lichfield in Staffordshire – at 359 Mbps – with Newry in Northern Ireland coming second.