According to the findings of a new study by uSwitch. com, there are dramatic variations in broadband speed within Britain's cities; thus making broadband speeds a postcode lottery in the country.

The uSwitch. com study of 30 cities and towns highlighted that the differences in broadband speeds can go up to as much as 89 percent in streets less than two miles apart; with Birmingham witnessing the biggest gap between fast and slow broadband speeds --- while the broadband speed for users with a B42 postcode in Birmingham is 20.9 megabits per second (Mbps); it is barely 2Mbps for users in the nearby B35 postcode.

Meanwhile, in London's slowest postcode district is EC2Y, which covers Barbican. The 5 Mbps average download speed in EC2Y is well below the country-wide average of 12Mbps. The suburb of Charlton in Greenwich has the highest speeds in the capital, with the residents enjoying 76 percent faster average speed of 22Mbps.

With the uSwitch. com study also drawing attention to the fact that there is no guarantee that a house in the centre of town will have fast broadband speeds, Marie-Louise Abretti - telecoms expert at uSwitch - said: "Despite the government's intense focus on super-fast speeds, this data reveals massive inconsistencies, with speeds fluctuating dramatically between areas located just a few miles apart."