Average broadband speeds in the UK trail those of Sweden, Japan and South Korea, but are quicker than typical connections in the US, new research reveals.

According to a report from Futuresource Consulting, home broadband is quickest in the Asian market, where Japan and South Korea enjoy average download speeds of 30Mb each.

Sweden has the quickest typical broadband connections in Europe, at 14Mb, while the US clocks in at just 2.7Mb - this is some way behind the UK's average speed, which was confirmed at 3.6Mb by Top 10 Broadband recently.

The Futuresource Consulting study also indicated that the total number of global home broadband subscribers will exceed 500 million next year.

It noted that 60 per cent of those connections are some sort of Digital Subscriber Line, with cable broadband accounting for 20 per cent of world connections.

Earlier this month, internet service provider TalkTalk suggested that reaction to the government's recent broadband proposals indicate that speed is one of the biggest issues for users.