New Ookla study crowns Three as the UK’s fastest 5G network

By Rachael Sharpe
published

Three has 5G available in more than 300 locations and has also been called out as the fastest 5G network in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

Ookla
(Image credit: Ookla)

Network intelligence provider, Ookla has crowned Three the fastest of the UK’s 5G networks in Q1–Q2 2021, via a new study. As well as having 5G available in more than 300 locations, Three has also been called out as fastest network in Birmingham, Manchester and London. 

Ookla

(Image credit: Ookla)

Ookla compared 654,037 user-initiated 5G tests taken on the Speedtest iOS and Android mobile apps from Three 5G, Vodafone 5G, O2 5G and EE 5G in the UK, during the award period to determine who showed the fastest mobile network 5G speed.

“Our commitment to the expansion of our 5G and 4G rollout.”

David Hennessy, Three UK.

“Keeping our customers at the forefront of every decision we make is the basis of our continued investment in our network and IT infrastructure. As we all navigate through uncertain times, our commitment to the expansion of our 5G and 4G rollout is vital to delivering better connectivity, every day for every customer,” said David Hennessy, chief technology officer at Three UK.

Providing 5G to nearly a third of the UK

In February, Three’s average data usage per customer per month had reached 17GB and the network reached an all-time data traffic peak of a massive 808Gbps during the Man City vs PSG semi-final match of the Champions League in May.

Now providing 5G to nearly a third of the UK’s population outdoors, Three continues to invest in network technology. The network recently invested in spectrum that enables further improvements to indoor coverage as well as enhancing its existing 4G network.

Three achieved an 84% reduction year on year for network incidents on Downdetector. It is also making further improvements to network capacity, latency and reliability, to drive a market-leading customer experience that ensures constantly better connectivity.

Fastest uploads from Vodafone

Although Three came out a clear top dog in the Ookla testing, Vodafone proved to have the fastest uploads at 21.09 Mbps, followed by EE at 19.55 Mbps, then Three at 15.26 Mbps and finally O2 at 12.26 Mbps.

Rachael Sharpe
Rachael Sharpe

Rachael is a British journalist with 17 years experience in the publishing industry. Since launching www.digitalcameraworld.com, she’s been freelancing, and working for some of the world’s best-loved websites and magazines including T3.com and TechRadar.com and has also had a book, iPad for Photographers, published. A regular contributor at 5Gradar, Rachael is following the 5G market closely. Find out more at www.rachaelsharpe.com