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London leaving other UK cities trailing with 4G access

Paul Withers
October 5, 2016

Users in the capital can access the service 69.7 per cent of the time but city averaged worst download speeds

London is pulling away from the rest of the UK when it comes to 4G accessibility according to OpenSignal’s ‘State of Mobile Networks: UK’ report.

The survey, conducted by OpenSignal in association with Which?, took samples from over 500 million tests from 28,000 users.

It found that users in London can access 4G networks 69.7 per cent of the time and revealed that Wales has the lowest 4G availability, with users connecting to 4G signals just 35.4 per cent of the time.

However, where London had the best accessibility, the capital falls down in download speeds, averaging 18.8 mbps, the worst in the country.

Yorkshire and Humberside achieved top marks in the download speeds category and was also the second best region for availability. Users could access 4G signals 61.3 per cent of the time and enjoy download speeds of around 22.8Mbps.

OpenSignal also tested the top four carriers in the UK for accessibility and speeds too and found that EE have maintained its crown as the most accessible and the fastest network.

It revealed EE customers are able to achieve a 4G connection 64.4 per cent of the time and enjoy speeds of around 28Mbps.

Three was runner up in the average speed test achieving speeds of around 24.5Mbps however was the worst when it came to 4G availability as users could enjoy 4G just 43.7 per cent of the time.

The report found that O2 and Vodafone hit speeds of 16.2Mbps and 18Mbps with accessibility hitting 60 per cent for both carriers.

OpenSignal CEO Brendan Gill said: “Mobile data speeds, both 4G and overall, were consistently fast in our tests throughout the country. But there definitely are still some areas in which the U.K. needs to improve. Finding a 4G signal outside of London can still be a bit tricky.”

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