Technology
Worst broadband speeds mapped and its bad news for UK homes

The UK’s broadband speeds are lagging behind many parts of Europe with UK homes getting downloads that are almost twice as slow as places such as France, Spain and the Netherlands. That’s the findings from a new report by the team at Open Signal who have gathered broadband speed data from over 35 countries to see who is out in front and who isn’t keeping pace.
Coming top of the league is France with homes across the Channel getting average downloads of 121Mbps. Next it’s Spain (114Mbps) followed by the Netherlands (104Mbps), Switzerland (102Mbps) and Denmark (99Mbps).
According to Open Signal, the UK comes in 14th place with homes seeing average speeds of just 66Mbps. To put that into some perspective, a user in France could download a full HD movie in four minutes with the same blockbuster taking almost 10 minutes in Britain.
“Among the compared markets, France and Spain stand out with the best observed broadband network speeds,” Open Signal explained. “Our French and Spanish users record average Broadband Download Speeds of 121Mbps and 114.4Mbps, respectively, and average Broadband Upload Speeds of 88.5Mbps and 91.4Mbps, respectively.”
If you thought that was bad, things get worse when it comes to uploads with Brits facing dismal speeds of just 20Mbps – that puts the UK in 23rd place behind Slovakia, Croatia and Czechia.
The only area where the UK does excel is in broadband consistency tests with Open Signal confirming that Britain’s internet quality stands at 78.4 percent – that’s the 6th best in Europe.
“Norway leads in Broadband Consistent Quality with a score of 84%, which is the percentage of users’ tests that meet the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games,” Open Signal added.
“This means that Norway leads in terms of consistent quality of broadband experience in the compared European markets, as measured by our users. Sweden (83.1%) and Denmark (82.6%) closely follow, highlighting the strong and consistent broadband infrastructure in Scandinavian countries.”
The UK’s infrastructure continues to improve with more homes getting access to full fibre connectivity.
Telecoms regulator Ofcom says that 94 percent of UK homes should have a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) line by 2026. Hopefully, the next time Britain is placed against other countries it will come higher up the league.
Technology
Amazon makes Sonos speakers more affordable as rare sale begins

If it’s new audio equipment you’re after to upgrade your home’s sound system then one of the brands to seriously consider is Sonos. The firm is famed for its excellent quality speakers and soundbars that link together to provide a full network in your house.
You could get one speaker for the kitchen or kit out every room in your domain with a Sonos product, all controllable via the Sonos app.
Now, just in time for Mother’s Day, Amazon is running a sale on several popular Sonos products, with money off speakers, headphones and home theatre equipment.
These Sonos deals are each being described as an ‘Early Spring Deal’, which seems to be set to coincide with Amazon’s upcoming Spring Deal Days sales event that is confirmed to run from Tuesday March 25 to Monday March 31.
One eye-catching Sonos saving is on the Sonos Roam 2, now down to £139 from £179. It’s the firm’s latest portable Bluetooth speaker with full waterproofing, 10 hours battery life and voice control tech, as well as superior sound quality whether you’re blasting tunes in your bedroom or at the park barbeque.
The clever design lets you set it upright or on its side depending on where you want to place it, plus it has Apple AirPlay 2 built in for easier linking with iPhones (but works just as well with Android via Bluetooth). You can even use it as a smart speaker thanks to built-in Amazon Alexa.
For even beefier portable audio that can truly soundtrack your next party, the Sonos Move 2 is down to £359 from £449. It has 24 hour battery life and can be set in the home on its charging base, ready to be grabbed and stuck in your garden when the sun comes out.
Express.co.uk tech editor Dave Snelling swears by the Sonos Ace over-ear headphones, and they are now on sale for £379, a sharp discount on their usual £449. In his four-and-a-half-star review, Snelling praised the Ace’s comfort, sound, battery life and noise cancellation. I can tell you that he wears these over any other headphones still.
If it’s great sound you want but need purely indoor audio and the option to add several speakers to the set up, the Sonos Era 100 is the one for you, now at £199 instead of £249. This is the latest flagship Sonos speaker, priced so you can put one in each room of your house or buy a couple and link them as a stereo pair for expansive sound.
Sonos’s indoor system works over your home Wi-Fi network via its app, allowing you to stream music from all the major popular streaming services. The app lets you play from certain speakers or move things from one room to another. The Era 100 also works with Sonos’s Trueplay tech that can analyse the acoustics of the room it’s in to tune the speaker to sound its best in the space.
Lastly if you want to upgrade your TV’s audio then there’s the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which is on sale for £339, £110 off its £449 RRP.
We’re not sure how long these prices will last on Amazon, but the sale is also on with identical pricing directly from Sonos. Sonos told us their sale is running until March 31.
Technology
First Sky, now Virgin Media wants to change the way some homes watch TV

The way we all consume TV is changing. Sky recently confirmed that 90 percent of new devices sold are powered by broadband rather than a dish, and the team behind Freeview continue to push the new Freely platform, which beams content to the big screen via an internet connection.
Now it seems Virgin Media is starting to push more of its users over to watching content via the web via a small and subtle change.
Until now, customers using Virgin’s cable connected TV 360 box could then add extra TV 360 mini devices to other rooms.
All of these boxes are linked up, allowing homes to watch live and on-demand content as well as recordings away from the main 360 device. It’s very similar to Sky Q and Sky Q mini boxes but it seems it could be the beginning of the end for the TV 360 mini.
As spotted by the eagle-eyed team at Cordbusters, Virgin has begun to stop selling TV 360 mini to new customers with those wanting multi-room getting a Virgin Stream box instead.
The change began late last year with Virgin confirming to Express.co.uk that it isn’t officially killing off its TV 360 mini system but is no longer supplying it to those signing up for a new contract.
For those not aware, Virgin Media Stream launched back in 2022 and offers an easy way to watch content using the internet. It also comes pre-loaded with apps such as Disney+, Netflix and more.
It’s unclear why Virgin has made this change, but it could be a sign that it also wants more people streaming rather than tuning in via traditional methods.
One of the bonuses of streaming devices is that they can be sent out in the post, can be DIY installed and don’t need an engineer to visit.
That not only cuts down on cost but also means customers don’t have to wait for an appointment.
The future of TV definitely appears to be heading online – even Freeview could be under threat in the future as more people switch to more modern platforms.
Watch this space.
Technology
Argos shoppers rush to grab cheaper Galaxy S25 thanks to surprise new

The Galaxy S25 was only launched back in February but Samsung fans can already grab a very decent discount on this range of flagship phones. Argos has just announced a surprise deal that is slashing the cost of all models – including the standard S25, bigger S25 Plus and ultimate S25 Ultra – by a whopping £100. To the money off, you just need to type in the SAMSUNG100 code at the checkout – it’s as easy as that.
This offer means you can currently pick up this top-rated flagship for as little as £699.
YOU CAN SEE THE ARGOS DEAL HERE
This price drop is clearly proving popular with Argos confirming that it is currently “in demand” and “selling fast”. Argos isn’t the only retailer offering this £100 off with Currys also dishing out a similar deal on its website.
Samsung also this offer available on its site along with has a slightly different promotion as well. The retailer is giving away double storage upgrades for free. That means you can get the bigger 256GB model for the same price as the standard 128GB version.
There’s even the option to bag the £1,349 512GB S25 Ultra and only pay £1,249 – that’s the usual cost of the 256GB model.
If those offers sound enticing, then you won’t be disappointed by the phones, which all come with a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and improved Galaxy AI, which can even give you a morning briefing about the day ahead.
The Ultra also gets a design refresh with a bigger 6.9-inch screen, and the quad rear camera also gets a boost for better photos.
This model continues to feature the S Pen, which pops out from the titanium case and lets owners scribble in the display without using their fingers.
Other extras worth mentioning include toughened glass to stop things cracking if dropped, long battery life, fast charging and some new colours to choose from.
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