BROADBAND users face a postcode lottery with some parts of Maldon suffering crippling speeds, new figures reveal.
Across the district, broadband speeds range from a superfast 64.1Mbps to a snail-paced 0.3Mbps, according to data from Uswitch.com.
It means families using Zoom, Skype or Facebook to speak to relatives and friends could be faced with annoying freezes, cut-outs and sound delays.
Those downloading Christmas movie classics could be left waiting up to 120 hours, compared to just one minute 20 seconds in neighbourhoods with the fastest speeds.
The average broadband speeds were collected in postcode areas with more than 50 addresses through at least one test in the 12 months up to October this year.