EE Named Best UK Mobile Operator for H1 2019 by RootMetrics

RootMetrics will today publish their latest H1 2019 study of 4G mobile network performance in the United Kingdom, which once again concluded that EE (BT) is overall still the top performing operator and also delivered the fastest aggregate mobile broadband download speed in UK-wide testing (37.6Mbps). Sadly O2 remains at the bottom.

As usual the organisation conducted their work by harnessing a batch of Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones, which were purchased off the shelf from operator stores. The testing itself was conducted during both the day and night across 16 UK cities, while walking and driving. Overall a total of 582,598 tests were completed including 19,238 miles driven, 648 indoor locations and over 750 total places visited.

The results were then converted to a score out of 100 for each category (higher number = better). At this point we had half expected O2’s recent deployment of the newly released 2.3GHz band for 4G services to give them a boost and indeed their overall score this year has improved, although sadly they continued to rank last in every single category except text messaging.

On the flip side Vodafone have moved a lot closer to the top spot and they’re threatening to steal the crown but for now it’s a strong second place finish for them.

Overall Scores for H1 2019 (vs H2 2018 Result)
1. EE – 96.1 (up from 94.5)
2. Vodafone – 95.2 (up from 92.9)
3. Three UK – 92.1 (up from 91.1)
4. O2 – 90.5 (up from 89.5)

In terms of the fastest aggregate ‘median’ UK mobile broadband download speeds (average), EE delivered 37.6Mbps, while Vodafone trailed on 21.7Mbps, Three UK scored just 13.6Mbps and O2 came last with a meagre performance of 11.1Mbps. The general scores across each category can be found below.

On top of that the report reveals which operators delivered the fastest and slowest median download speeds outdoors in several UK cities during periods of high congestion. In Edinburgh the fastest was EE (30.5Mbps), while the slowest was Three UK (9.1Mbps). In Manchester the fastest was Vodafone (47.9Mbps), while the slowest was Three UK (5.7Mbps).

Finally, in London, the fastest was Vodafone (41.9Mbps) again and the slowest is Three UK (7.3Mbps). In fairness it should be said that many of Three’s customers are heavy data users, due to the operator’s unlimited allowances, and they also have less 4G spectrum than their rivals. Likewise all of the above results may change once 5G goes live from every operator since Three has a sizeable spectrum advantage in that technology.

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer Business, said:

“Delivering the best mobile experience for our customers right across the UK is our top priority. Being recognised as the UK’s best network for the sixth year running reflects our continued investment in keeping our customers connected to the things that matter most, whether that’s continuing to roll out 4G to even more places or being the first to bring 5G to the busiest places across the UK.”

This time around the study also gives us a good look at how mobile broadband speeds vary by region – England, Scotland, N.Ireland and Wales. Overall EE delivered another clean sweep in all four primary regions of the United Kingdom and Vodafone’s second place finish was rarely challenged.