Our Methodology

Data collection

We download raw data directly from official government and regulator sources. No data is scraped from third-party aggregators or commercial databases. Our primary sources are:

• ✓ Ofcom Connected Nations — broadband availability and mobile coverage by postcode, published quarterly
• ✓ HM Land Registry — residential property sales including price, date, property type, and address
• ✓ Police.uk — crime incident data by LSOA (Lower Super Output Area), updated monthly
• ✓ DfE/Ofsted — school registration and inspection ratings from the Get Information About Schools (GIAS) dataset
• ✓ Environment Agency — flood risk zones and surface water flood mapping
• ✓ ONS Census 2021 — population, demographics, and deprivation index (IMD 2019)

Data processing

Raw data is processed by our data engineering team (led by Rex Blackwell) using automated pipelines. Each postcode is matched to its LSOA, MSOA, parish, and local authority using the ONS postcode directory. We validate data quality at each stage:

• ✓ Broadband figures are verified against Ofcom's own checking tool for a sample of postcodes
• ✓ House price averages are calculated from the last 5 years of Land Registry data
• ✓ Crime totals are aggregated at LSOA level and attributed to all postcodes within that LSOA
• ✓ School distances are calculated using straight-line distance from postcode centroid coordinates

Content creation

Area guide text is written by our editorial team (Sage Mitchell, Content Lead) and reviewed by a named team member before publication. Content is based entirely on the data described above — we do not embellish or editorially favour any area, provider, or service.

Each page shows a "Reviewed by" attribution and a "Data last verified" date so you know when information was last checked.

Affiliate links

Broadband Compare UK earns a commission when you click through to a broadband provider and complete a purchase. This commission does not influence which deals are shown, their ranking, or any data on this site.

All deal listings are ordered by value metrics (price, speed, contract length) not by commission rate. We never accept payment to rank a provider higher or to display "sponsored" results within our organic comparison tables.

Tumblebyte Limited is registered with the ICO and complies with UK advertising standards (CAP Code). Affiliate relationships are disclosed in accordance with ASA guidelines.

Suitability scores

Our Remote Worker, Family, and Value scores are computed automatically from official data:

• Remote Worker Score — Superfast % (25%), FTTP % (35%), Gigabit % (25%), 4G outdoor % (15%)
• Family Score — Ofsted ratings (30%), inverse crime rate (30%), inverse flood risk (25%), GP distance (15%)
• Value Score — Broadband quality weighted against local house prices. Higher score = better broadband relative to cost of living.

Scores range 0–100. These are indicative only and should not be used as the sole basis for moving decisions.