5G delivering 100Mbps+ downloads in four UK cities

Author: EIS Release Date: Jun 22, 2021

5G network testing by RootMetrics in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Nottingham has shown that while Vodafone and O2 delivered strong 5G median download speeds, EE is the leader when it comes to providing consistently broad availability plus fast speeds.

 

RootMetrics uses a measure it calls  “Everyday 5G” performance which is a combination of results recorded on 5G-only and 5G “mixed mode” – the increasingly common user behaviour of switching between 5G and 4G LTE during the same data task.

 

By combining the two 5G possibilities, Everyday 5G results reflect the most typical 5G experience in the UK.

 

Although Vodafone clocked the single-fastest Everyday 5G median download speed of any operator in the June 5G Scorecard at 192.2 Mbps in Glasgow, EE continues to deliver well on the crucial combination of availability plus speed.

 

 

 

EE posted the highest Everyday 5G availability in all four cities tested, and its Everyday 5G median download speeds were consistently strong.

 

EE’s “slowest” speed was 113.5 Mbps in Glasgow, while its fastest Everyday 5G median download speed was 135.3 Mbps in Cardiff.

 

O2 had the fastest Everyday 5G median download speed in Edinburgh at 163.3 Mbps, along with good speeds in the other cities tested.

 

Three recorded the slowest Everyday 5G median download speeds in all four cities.  Three’s fastest Everyday 5G median download speed in the June 5G Scorecard was recorded in Glasgow at 92.2 Mbps, whereas EE, O2, and Vodafone all posted Everyday 5G median download speeds above 100 Mbps in all four cities.

 

Three’s highest Everyday 5G availability, meanwhile, was 36.0% in Nottingham, which was higher than that of O2 in the city (17.1%) but not nearly as high as EE’s 64.0%. That said, Three showed improved Everyday 5G availability in all four cities since 2H 2020.

 

Although RootMetrics didn’t record any 5G for Vodafone in Nottingham, the operator performed well in the three cities where it did offer 5G.

 

Vodafone has also shown encouraging progress and improvements since the second half of 2020. In fact, Vodafone’s Everyday 5G availability and median download speeds improved in all three of its cities with 5G since 2H 2020.

 

Vodafone registered particularly notable gains in Cardiff: Vodafone’s Everyday 5G availability in Cardiff nearly doubled since 2H 2020, moving from 23.4% to 44.2%, while its Everyday 5G median download speed jumped from 106.9 Mbps to a strong 140.2 Mbps in 1H 2021, the fastest in the city.