With the Smart Home Market set to reach a value of 拢127 billion by 2026, webchat provider Yomdel has looked at where across the UK home buyers can get an affordable foot on the ladder with the best broadband connectivity to keep their smart home running.Smart homes have been labelled as the 鈥榥ew tech gold rush鈥�, taking over from the smartphone and featuring heavily at this year Consumer Electronics Show. With everything from TVs, doorbells, locks, home assistants like Alexa, cooking aids, sleep aids, energy appliances and more, our households are set to become a lot more tech-enabled.
Yomdel looked at the top 50 areas across the UK for broadband speed before comparing this speed with the average house price in each area, ranking them based on the house price cost for every megabit per second to highlight where offers the optimum mix of initial affordability and smooth smart home potential.
With a UK average speed of just 17.8, the average home buyer pays 拢12,983 in property prices for every megabit per second of broadband. But for those keen to join the smart home revolution, there are some far more affordable options, with much better broadband speeds.
Blaenau Gwent is home to a broadband speed of 25.4mbps and with the average home costing just 拢92,515, the area is the nation鈥檚 top contender for a smart home hotspot at just 拢3,642 per Mbps.
Middlesbrough (拢4,258), Dundee (拢4,418), North Lanarkshire (拢4,565), Hartlepool (拢4,585) North East Lincolnshire (拢4,620), Halton (拢5,421), Belfast (拢5,545) and Darlington (拢5,684) also make the top 10.
鈥淐onsumers crave convenience and it鈥檚 clear that the further integration of this convenience into our day to day lives and our homes is going to be a huge area of focus and development over the coming years,鈥� said Yomdel founder and CEO Andy Soloman.
鈥淧revious research has demonstrated that current connectivity in many areas of the UK is below par, to say the least, so it鈥檚 likely that it will take some time for the ground level infrastructure to catch up with the innovative tech we鈥檝e seen showcased at the likes of the Consumer Electronics Show.
鈥淗owever, for many, the issue of broadband speeds pales in comparison to the far larger barrier of getting a foot on the ladder in the first place, so we felt it was important to incorporate property price affordability into this research.
When these things are considered together, the results are perhaps surprising, but showcase the diversity of the UK market and the areas that could best accommodate the smart home revolution right here and now.鈥�
Top 9 (Average Broadband Speed / Average House Price / Price per Mbps)
1. Blaenau Gwent, Wales – 25.4 / 拢92,515 / 拢3,642
2. Middlesbrough, North East – 26 / 拢110,702 / 拢4,258
3. City of Dundee, Scotland – 28.7 / 拢126,797 / 拢4,418
4. North Lanarkshire, Scotland – 23.9 / 拢109,102 / 拢4,565
5. Hartlepool, North East – 24.2 / 拢110,957 / 拢4,585
6. North East Lincolnshire – 27.4 / 拢126,589 / 拢4,620
7. Halton, North West – 25.5 / 拢138,233 / 拢5,421
8. Belfast, Northern Ireland – 23.3 / 拢129,203 / 拢5,545
9. Darlington, North East – 23 / 拢130,732 / 拢5,684