Cardiff poised to steal Swindon's fat pipe crown?

Swindon remains the UK's broadband heartland but Welsh capital Cardiff is hot on its heels.

Nearly three-fifths (59.8 per cent) of homes in the Wiltshire town had broadband as of 30 June 2006, according to Point Topic research.

Broadband from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more...

A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies

But Cardiff has leapfrogged up the rankings to second position, with a broadband penetration of 57.8 per cent.

Back in December 2005, when Point Topic conducted its previous survey of UK broadband penetration, Cardiff ranked 15th for fat pipe penetration, with 46.7 per cent.

The Welsh capital was chosen by BT for initial tests of 21CN, with the first customers hooked up to the new network last month.

Swindon has held the broadband pole position since December 2005, when 51.1 per cent of its households were on broadband.