EE retains crown in 5G rankingsEE retains crown in 5G rankings

RootMetrics conducted over 625,000 tests to measure the real-world mobile performance of mobile operators in the UK, and says the resulting report “provides a comprehensive picture of network performance at the UK-wide level, across all four nations, and 16 of the nation’s largest metropolitan markets.”

The report says 5G availability saw continued improvement from all four operators, but the fastest 5G speed experience still remains undecided for the period. The report read: "To earn RootMetrics honors for providing the Fastest 5G experience at the UK-wide level, an operator must deliver the fastest 5th percentile 5G download speed, the fastest median 5G download speed, and the fastest 95th percentile 5G download speed.

"In 2H 2024, no operator achieved that feat. EE posted the top 5th percentile and median 5G download speeds, while Three registered the fastest 95th percentile 5G download speed. EE, Three, and Vodafone each delivered 5G median download speeds exceeding 200 Mbps in UK-wide testing, while Virgin Media O2 trailed at 82.8 Mbps. At any of those speeds, users should be able to perform nearly any typical mobile activity with ease."

EE, Three, and Virgin Media O2 demonstrated 61% 5G availability during UK-wide testing, while Vodafone trailed at 48.3%. However all operators showed improvement in comparison to a year before during 2H 2023 testing, in which time no operator offered 5G availability above 60%.

EE won or shared every UK-wide RootScore Award, and has won the UK Overall RootScore Award outright in every test period dating back to 2H 2013, giving it he honour of “the UK’s best network for 11.5 years running”.

EE also posted the fastest UK-wide median download speed at 89.9 Mbps, nearly double that of the closest competitor which was Vodafone at 49.9 Mbps. It also took home the Best 5G Experience gong “through its combination of widespread 5G availability and strong performance.”

Three shared the UK Text RootScore Award and the report says it showed strong performance in metropolitan markets, recording median download speeds above 50 Mbps in 13 out of 16 markets tested, which is the second-highest mark of any operator. Three was behind them for both awards and speeds, but its 33 RootScore Awards nearly doubled Virgin Media O2’s total of 17.

Vodafone was deemed to have performed well overall, improving its rankings in several UK-wide categories while increasing its award tallies in both nation and metro testing. Vodafone’s 5G network clocked median 5G download speeds above 100 Mbps across all 16 markets tested, and increased its RootScore Award tally in major cities from 35 last time to 45 in the second half of 2024,.

However its median download speed interval results “only showed modest improvement, with median download speeds above 100 Mbps in one more city than in 1H 2024.”

VMO2 was the only operator that didn’t record any median download speeds over 100 Mbps in major cities, and the operator recorded the only sub-20 Mbps median download speed (14.8 Mbps in Southampton). As some consolation, the operator showed improved 5G availability in 15 out of 16 cities tested, while posting faster median 5G download speeds in a majority of the cities tested.

The previous report which covered the first half of 2024 also found EE’s 5G availability and performance superior, taking the prize from Three which was given the accolade for the same period in the previous year.