Mobile communications regulator Ofcom has released its first report on the state of mobile broadband in the UK, and O2 has come out on top.
The report, which focuses on speeds of mobile broadband dongles rather than handsets, is based on data collected from September to December 2010. Ofcom has also indicated that it will be testing handset mobile data performance in the near future.
Readings were taken from all over the UK, at varying times of day, in order to give an accurate and widespread idea of mobile data speeds.
O2 is the clear winner when it comes to download speeds, with an average of between 2.5Mb/sec and 3Mb/s, while Orange languishes in last place with an average speed of between 1Mb/sec and 1.4Mb/sec.
Orange also grabbed the wooden spoon for the number of 2G connections made in the testing period, with over 30 per cent of the network's data connections made using the older standard. Meanwhile, O2 made 9 per cent of its connections via 2G, while Vodafone made just 6.5 per cent of its connections using the ageing standard, indicating a wider-ranging 3G network.
However, as any Londoner will tell you, mobile data in urban areas is infamously dodgy, and the report backs this up. According to Ofcom, the 'measured performance was highly variable across the city, with no guarantee of good performance offered by a city centre location.'
You can read Ofcom's full Measuring Mobile Broadband in the UK report here
How do find your mobile provider's mobile data speeds? Has this report made you re-think your next upgrade? Let us know in the forums.
The report, which focuses on speeds of mobile broadband dongles rather than handsets, is based on data collected from September to December 2010. Ofcom has also indicated that it will be testing handset mobile data performance in the near future.
Readings were taken from all over the UK, at varying times of day, in order to give an accurate and widespread idea of mobile data speeds.
O2 is the clear winner when it comes to download speeds, with an average of between 2.5Mb/sec and 3Mb/s, while Orange languishes in last place with an average speed of between 1Mb/sec and 1.4Mb/sec.
Orange also grabbed the wooden spoon for the number of 2G connections made in the testing period, with over 30 per cent of the network's data connections made using the older standard. Meanwhile, O2 made 9 per cent of its connections via 2G, while Vodafone made just 6.5 per cent of its connections using the ageing standard, indicating a wider-ranging 3G network.
However, as any Londoner will tell you, mobile data in urban areas is infamously dodgy, and the report backs this up. According to Ofcom, the 'measured performance was highly variable across the city, with no guarantee of good performance offered by a city centre location.'
You can read Ofcom's full Measuring Mobile Broadband in the UK report here
How do find your mobile provider's mobile data speeds? Has this report made you re-think your next upgrade? Let us know in the forums.
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