Competition intensifies amongst UK’s mobile network operators

The latest industry review of UK mobile network performance for 2021 has shown intensified competition amongst the country’s mobile network operators.

The data, provided by RootMetrics, was compiled from 600,000 tests across 750 locations nationwide over the first half of the year.

The tests assessed data, call and text performance, alongside overall capability with regards to speed and reliability.

Patrick Linder, chief marketing officer at RootMetrics by IHS Markit, said: “In the first half of 2021, we saw an already dynamic mobile landscape in the UK continue to evolve and improve. Users will be pleased to see all four main operators improving their performance, particularly when it comes to 5G availability and speed.

“With the availability of 5G continuing to grow and all four major operators providing users with Everyday 5G median download speeds above 100Mbps in nearly every city we tested, the providers are clearly making good progress in terms of delivering the key combination of both widespread availability plus fast speeds,” Linder added.

“While EE was the clear standout in the first half of the year, the improvements we saw from the other operators shouldn’t be overlooked. As the competitive landscape becomes more intense and level over time, users should continue to benefit from better mobile performance.”

According to the analyst, the EE network provided UK users with a “great service in general” with strong performance in metropolitan areas. EE offers “impressive everyday 5G availability and speeds” with the fastest median download speed in every city across all network technologies.

RootMetrics’ testing found the Three network to have notably good text results, with speeds improving since the last review.

The newly formed Virgin Media O2 network performed well in terms of network accessibility, with strong improvements across the board. Virgin Media O2 won the Network Accessibility RootScore Award in UK-wide testing, as well as taking home the most accessibility awards in nationwide testing.

Vodafone took home three UK RootScore Awards having shown “good progress” in UK-wide tests. Vodafone and EE were tied for first place in terms of call performance, text performance, and network reliability.