More than 1,000 homes in Herefordshire have internet below the minimum standard for broadband speeds, new figures show.

Since March 2020, broadband providers have been required to meet a “universal service obligation”, meaning everyone has the legal right to a “decent, affordable” connection.

This is defined as a download speed of at least 10mb/s and an upload speed of 1mb/s, for a maximum of £45 a month.

If customers cannot access internet at this speed, they can ask their local network provider to set up a connection – although internet providers are excused if the cost to them is over £3,400.

New data from Ofcom shows there were 1,076 homes suffering from broadband below these speeds in name as January – making it one of the worst places in the UK for slow broadband.

A 10mb/s connection is the minimum standard for being able to stream video and make face-to-face calls.

Homes suffering from extremely slow speeds still made up a minority in Herefordshire, accounting for 1 per cent of households in the area.

Meanwhile, 28,429 properties (31 per cent) in Herefordshire can access “ultrafast” broadband – with speeds of 300mb/s or more – up from 10 per cent five years ago, in June 2017.