Ofcom’s new ‘Mobile Matters’ research report, published today, 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.
Our analysis showed that 71% (a year-on-year decrease of 7 percentage points) of cellular network connections were on 4G, 28% on 5G (a year-on-year increase of 9 percentage points), 0.7% on 3G and just 0.2% on 2G. In urban areas of the UK, 29% of network connections were on 5G compared to 19% 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% 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.
Our analysis showed that 5G SA provided significantly higher download speeds than non-standalone 5G, with file download times about 45% faster on average. Standalone 5G also has lower latency.
However, our analysis also indicated that 5G SA had a lower average connection success rate (96%) than non-standalone 5G connections (98%).
Comparing the Mobile Network Operators
EE had the highest proportion of network connections on 5G (32%). Vodafone had the lowest for 5G (24%), but the highest share on 4G (76%). O2 had the lowest share of 4G connections (68%) and the highest proportion on 3G (3%).
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%) and 4G (4%).
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.
Map Your Mobile today
Want to find out what the best mobile coverage is in your area? Ofcom’s free mobile coverage checker, Map Your Mobile, is the most comprehensive tool for comparing mobile coverage and performance to be made available in the UK.
The service allows people to enter their postcode and obtain a local map of which networks are available, together with data showing which operator’s network gives the best performance for their postal district, which is based on the same Opensignal data that is used for the Mobile Matters report.