Just 44 postcodes out of 1.7m are using optimum broadband speeds, Ofcom figures show.

Analysis of internet speeds suggests that a tiny minority of British households are accessing the "gigabit speed" broadband, which is more than 20 time faster than the current average.

The analysis by the Financial Times suggests that there are only 44 postcodes that are accessing average speeds of 1GBit/s, just three of which are in urban areas.

The internet speed, seen as the benchmark for fast broadband in the future, is also offered by some providers as "hyperoptic" broadband and outstrips the superfast and ultrafast speeds commonly offered by mainstream internet companies.

Many of the areas with the fastest broadband in the country are in remote areas, including rural parts of of Lancashire and Oxfordshire.

Some northern areas are covered by B4RN, or Broadband for the Rural North, a community-led organisation that offers the fast connection to households in its coverage area for £30 a month.

Its area currently covers a portion of the rural north-west, from south of Lancaster to north of Kendal, in the Lake District.

Residents installed the cables themselves by digging trenches and pooled their resources in 2011 to fund the project.