RootMetrics by IHS Markit’s latest UK performance report confirms EE’s continued leadership across multiple measures, while Three’s 5G potential is becoming increasingly visible where it has deployed service.
In RootMetrics’ testing across 16 major UK cities, EE either won outright or tied for first in all seven measured categories: Overall, reliability, speed, data, accessibility, calls, and text. The operator delivered a median download speed of 42.6 Mbps across the tested cities, reaching at least 50 Mbps in half of them. Manchester stood out, with EE posting a median download speed of 73 Mbps there.
Behind EE, Vodafone secured second place with a city-wide median of 19 Mbps, followed by Three at 14.1 Mbps and O2 at 13.3 Mbps. These figures reflect the differences in national footprint, spectrum holdings and deployment pace among the operators.
Three previously sought to merge with O2, arguing that a combined operator would better challenge EE and Vodafone. Regulators rejected the proposal amid concerns that reducing the market to three major operators would harm competition.
To boost competition, Three has received preferential treatment in some spectrum auctions. As a result, it has accumulated 140 MHz of spectrum suitable for 5G and is the only UK carrier holding a contiguous 100 MHz block. Global standards bodies often point to contiguous spectrum blocks as important for realizing the full technical benefits associated with 5G, and Three highlighted this in its marketing.
Three’s former CEO highlighted the strategic value of that spectrum, saying the carrier could offer “true 5G.” However, regulators weighed in on some claims: in March, the UK advertising regulator ASA restricted advertisements that the agency judged to be misleading.
Despite a relatively slow national rollout, where Three has deployed 5G it has shown strong peak and median speeds. In Leicester, Three recorded the fastest median 5G speed among operators at 193.7 Mbps and the highest single measured download speed at 478.1 Mbps. Yet overall 5G availability remains limited in most cities: Three’s highest 5G availability was 15.4% in Birmingham. By comparison, O2’s highest recorded city-level availability was only 0.6% in Belfast.
EE achieved the highest 5G availability in the report, reaching 40.2% in Birmingham. Vodafone posted the next-best availability figure, reaching 16.8% in Bristol. These availability figures illustrate that while peak speeds can be impressive, broad coverage and consistent access still vary significantly between operators and locations.
The RootMetrics report highlights the current state of the UK mobile market: EE leads on measured performance across multiple categories, Vodafone and Three follow with varying strengths in speed and spectrum assets, and O2 trails on several metrics. Three’s spectrum position gives it theoretical advantages for delivering higher 5G speeds where it goes live, but nationwide impact depends on continued investment and rollout pace.
For readers interested in the full data and methodology, RootMetrics publishes a detailed report covering their tests and findings for the period. The report provides city-level breakdowns of speed, availability and other performance metrics, offering a clearer view of how networks compare in specific urban areas.
(Photo by Lodewijk Hertog on Unsplash)
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