Ofcom: “UK 5G developing at pace”
July 17, 2025
Ofcom’s Mobile Matters research report puts people’s experiences of using mobile networks across the UK under the microscope, based on crowdsourced data collected between October 2024 and March 2025 by Opensignal.
The analysis showed that 71 per cent (a year-on-year decrease of 7 percentage points) of cellular network connections were on 4G, 28 per cent on 5G (a year-on-year increase of 9 percentage points), 0.7 per cent on 3G and just 0.2 per cent on 2G. In urban areas of the UK, 29 per cent of network connections were on 5G compared to 19 per cent in rural areas.
On average, 5G connections were consistently faster for file downloads. For example, downloading a 2MB file – such as a photo or short low-resolution video – takes 0.3 seconds on 5G, compared to 0.7 seconds on 4G and 4.9 seconds on 3G.
5G developing at pace
One of the recent developments in mobile networks is the launch of 5G standalone (5G SA) services – a 5G network where the core network infrastructure is built specifically for 5G, rather than relying on an existing 4G network. Overall, 2 per cent of network connections were over 5G SA.
In the last year, 5G SA roll-out has gained momentum. Following Vodafone’s launch in 2023, O2 and EE have followed suit and began rolling out their 5G SA networks in 2024. Three is yet to launch.
Ofcom analysis showed that 5G SA provided significantly higher download speeds than non-standalone 5G, with file download times about 45 per cent faster on average. Standalone 5G also has lower latency. However, the analysis also indicated that 5G SA had a lower average connection success rate (96 per cent) than non-standalone 5G connections (98 per cent).
Comparing the Mobile Network Operators
EE had the highest proportion of network connections on 5G (32 per cent). Vodafone had the lowest for 5G (24 per cent), but the highest share on 4G (76 per cent). O2 had the lowest share of 4G connections (68 per cent) and the highest proportion on 3G (3 per cent).
Three had the shortest download times for files over 5G, followed by Vodafone. While EE was fastest over 4G. O2 had the lowest proportion of connections with a 100 Mbit/s or higher download speed over both 5G (33 per cent) and 4G (4 per cent).
Three had the lowest (best) latency level over 5G, while EE’s was the lowest over 4G. O2’s average response times were slightly higher than the other networks on both 5G and 4G, although they were still sufficient to give a good user experience for even the most demanding online activities.
Other posts by :
- Bank uplifts RocketLab
- AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird/FM1 en route to India
- D2D satellite battle hots up
- Eutelsat share price rockets
- AST SpaceMobile recovers after Verizon agreement
- Bank has mixed messages for AST SpaceMobile
- EchoStar clears key regulatory hurdles for Starlink deal
- Starlinks falling to Earth every day
- 650 Starlink D2C craft in orbit