IT experts Mode Solutions has unveiled, that on average, a quarter of workers in the UK’s top hybrid and remote working industries are underserved in their home internet requirements. Mode’s analysis of Ofcom’s Connected Nations Open Data helped to determine the viability of a fully remote workforce in industries offering greater flexibility.
The need for Superfast broadband, which constitutes speeds of more than 24Mbps, has never been more essential given that 87 per cent of the working population, who were office-based before the pandemic, are now set to split their time between the office and home.
The industries offering the greatest flexibility in terms of remote and hybrid working, and their subsequent internet speed requirements are:
Industries offering the greatest flexibility/Internet speed requirements
IT & Telecoms 60 Mbps
Financial Services 48.5 Mbps
General Insurance 47.5 Mbps
Leisure & Tourism 47.5 Mbps
Legal 47.5 Mbps
Media, Digital & Creative 33 Mbps
Marketing & PR 33 Mbps
Sales 27.5 Mbps
Recruitment Consultancy 23.5 Mbps
Charity & Voluntary 22.5 Mbps
Those working within these listed industries can ideally move to and live, almost anywhere across the country. However, with over half of these industries requiring more than 30Mpbs to operate smoothly, Mode has identified the percentage of each region that does not receive superfast broadband speeds of 30Mbps or higher:
Region/% of region receiving under 30Mbps
Scotland 24.46%
Wales 23.73%
Yorkshire and The Humber 22.33%
North East 22.25%
East of England 21.18%
South East 20.99%
West Midlands 20.71%
East Midlands 20.56%
North West 20.13%
London 18.23%
Andy Fung, Technical Director at Mode Solutions said, “the location of a business cannot easily be changed and with the continued rise of hybrid and remote working, it’s critical for businesses to undergo digital transformations to maximise the efficiency and connectivity of their IT infrastructure. They need to optimise their people and the resources available to them to thrive as a business.”
The need for improvements to be made to the UK’s IT infrastructure is echoed by the Government’s £5 billion ‘Project Gigabit’, a major funding initiative aiming to deliver more than one million hard-to-reach homes with next-generation broadband. In alignment with Mode’s findings, the project is taking place in regions such as the East of England and the Northeast, where over a fifth of homes do not receive superfast connectivity.
Andy said, “during a time of evolution, it’s important to assess and improve the UK’s infrastructure and Project Gigabit reflects the importance of this. Being connected personally and professionally is critical to improving business performance.”
Fortunately, for industries and workers who regularly rely on mobile internet access, super-fast 5G connectivity continues to increase across the UK. EE, which launched the UK’s first 5G network in May 2019, has recently announced that its 5G network has now passed 50 per cent population coverage and plan to offer 5G anywhere in the UK by 2028.
