Chesterfield Internet Speeds

The internet is now an integral part of business operations. Whether you’re replying to emails, setting up virtual meetings with clients or connecting with your customers, the internet is a powerful asset – when it works.

The best tools a business can use, such as the cloud, require fast, stable broadband, usually fibre internet with speeds of at least 30Mbps. Multiple devices connecting to the same network or particularly intensive tasks can struggle with slow internet. The rise in remote working has made it crucial that every home and business has access to Superfast or Ultrafast broadband.

We’ve put together this guide to help you find out if your Chesterfield business is getting the best internet possible.

Broadband in Chesterfield

Average speeds in Chesterfield are slightly lower than the national average. As of February 2023, SpeedTest lists fixed broadband in Chesterfield as having a median download speed of 65.65Mbps, compared to the national median of 72.83Mbps.

As you can see from the above graph, large parts of central Chesterfield have average internet speeds below 30Mbps, which means those postcodes may struggle with resource-intense online tasks.

Where are the fastest broadband speeds in Chesterfield?

The fastest broadband speeds in Chesterfield are found in Dunston, Whittingham Moor and Brimington.

The fastest internet speeds are clustered north of the town centre, with average speeds exceeding 80Mbps in Dunston, Whittingham Moor and Brimington. Some postcodes in Whittingham Moor have average speeds of 108mbps, which is faster than 99% of postcodes in the East Midlands.

Speeds of 80Mbps and higher mean residents and businesses in these postcodes will enjoy quick downloads, stable video calls and rapid load times, even with multiple devices connected.

Where are the slowest broadband speeds in Chesterfield?

The slowest broadband speeds in Chesterfield can be found in Boythorpe, the S40 postcode and Spital.

Chesterfield town centre and the surrounding areas have far slower internet speeds than their neighbours. In particular, some S40 postcodes have speeds barely above 22Mbps, which is amongst the slowest internet across the entire East Midlands.

This means that people and businesses in these postcodes will struggle when going online; multiple devices connecting to the same network may cause buffering and slower load times, and resource-intensive tasks like HD video calling may not work.

Why is fast internet so important?

Fast internet is so important because so many business processes rely on broadband. For instance, video conferencing and cloud computing both require a stable, fast broadband connection to work effectively.

There are three bands of internet speed available for home networks:

Standard broadband – Standard broadband is the slowest internet band, using BT’s copper telephone network to deliver internet speeds up to 30Mbps. Standard broadband packages are usually the cheapest available, but they restrict your online activity. For instance, it isn’t recommended to host cloud services or video conferences, and multiple devices on the same network can further limit already sluggish speeds.

Superfast broadband – Superfast broadband offers internet speeds of over 30Mbps up to 300Mbps. Superfast is the most common internet speed band in the UK and includes most fibre broadband packages.

Ultrafast broadband – Ultrafast provides the fastest internet speeds currently available. Any broadband over 300mbps is considered ultrafast. This includes Gigabit fibre internet, which has speeds of around 1000mbps (1Gbps). Fair Internet Report suggests that Gigabit fibre is currently available to 32% of Chesterfield residents.

The internet is delivered via cables. There are 3 types of cable, and which type connects to your house or business will impact what internet speeds are available to you:

ADSL – ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. This network of copper telephone lines is mainly used in UK homes and small businesses that either can’t afford or don’t require fibre internet.

Fibre – Fibre-optic lines are purpose-built lines for fast broadband delivery. As such, they provide higher speeds than ADSL lines. Cables that run directly to homes are called Ultrafast full fibre lines. Alternatively, Superfast fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) uses a mix of fibre-optic and copper cables to deliver higher speeds than purely ADSL lines.

Cable – Cable delivers internet through TV network cables. While there is less data loss compared to copper, and can therefore carry higher internet speeds, cable is still slower than full fibre-optic.

Particularly as more business processes are provided through the internet, the faster your connection, the better your online experience. Email attachments download more quickly, services hosted in the cloud load quicker, and video conferencing is more stable.

Is your Chesterfield business getting the highest speeds possible?

Broadband is a crucial part of businesses in Chesterfield and across the UK. While you may not have access to the fastest broadband, maximising the speeds for your postcode will benefit your business. Perform a speed test using a tool like Broadband Speed Checker or SpeedTest to get a rough benchmark of your broadband speed.

Then check your speed against the speed available in your postcode – you can use this broadband speed map by the Financial Times. Alternatively, put your postcode into an internet service provider’s website, and they’ll tell you what speeds and deals they offer for your area.