Three UK leads Mobile 5G broadband speeds

Ookla, the internet connection testing expert that collects data via its Speedtest.net service, has recently published a quarterly study on 5G-based mobile broadband network performance in the UK.

While its performance had experienced decline, the report showed that telecoms company Three UK is delivering the fastest 5G speeds for Britons.

Performance of mobile data is notoriously difficult to determine, as its users are constantly moving throughout different areas – including outdoor, indoor and underground – while using different types of devices with various capabilities.

The surrounding environments of mobile users are also ever-changing as they encounter a variety of obstacles such as weather, buildings and trees.

All the above factors can impact service quality, before other issues, like network capacity at various cell sites and disparate spectrum ownership of mobile operators, are even considered.

However, the latest study from Ookla attempts to shed light on the subject by comparing a total of 1,076,761 5G tests initiated by users from all the UK’s major mobile operators.

The report showed that Three UK has retained its position as the provider of the UK’s fastest average download speeds for 5G mobile (226.27Mbps). However, the telecom company’s speeds were down drastically from 2023 (265.75Mbps) and 2022 (292.57Mbps).

In comparison, Three UK’s competitors had experienced little change for the same term. Three UK also led the pack for the best upload speed at 13.14Mbps.

EE took the top spot for latency with a score of 30 milliseconds. Overall, O2 Virgin Media had the slowest 5G performance statistics.