GWS Rank Virgin Media and EE Best for UK Broadband and Mobile in H1 2024

Network testing firm Global Wireless Solutions has today published the results of a new study that examined connectivity experiences in the UK, which saw Virgin Media (O2) win two awards for ‘Best Broadband Experience‘ and ‘Best Combined Connectivity Experience‘, while EE came top for ‘Best Mobile Experience‘.

The results from GWS’ 2024 Nationwide Connectivity Experience Report are based on the collection of 573 million data points and over 1.5 million tests conducted across key performance metrics (i.e. throughputs, reliability, latency, packet loss, and video streaming metrics). The tests were conducted on the devices of real-life users from GWS’ proprietary opt-in consumer panel of 6,000 participants (18+).

In addition to running network performance tests, GWS generated insights into app usage and polled consumers on their wireless experiences. For example, this revealed that people have between 13 and 14 connected devices running on their home broadband networks. What’s more, over half of all households say that the majority of members in their house are using the WiFi simultaneously for more than 5 hours a day.

The data also reveals that when on their Smartphones, Brits spend 78% of their time connected to WiFi (much of this will be from when they’re at home or in an office) and 22% on 4G/5G (mobile data). But the main focus of all the testing was to establish which broadband and mobile providers delivered the best experience.

The Results

Best Fixed Broadband ISP

In terms of fixed broadband, Virgin Media was found to have the Best Broadband Experience out of all ISPs tested. As a highlight, Virgin Media led the pack when looking at mean download throughputs (across all panellists), offering over 170Mbps. The next closest provider was Vodafone, which offered less than half the throughput (over 75Mbps), illustrating a significant divide in performance (this probably has more to do with the fact that Virgin has a higher take-up of faster speeds).

Virgin Media also performed best in video streaming, finishing top with best resolution and quickest time to load. In addition, GWS also measured the percentage of time that ISPs were able to maintain high definition (HD) resolution during the streaming tests (i.e. maintaining video resolution at 720p or greater). Virgin Media led the way at 94%.

Broadband Provider Ranking for H1 2024

1. Virgin Media
2. Vodafone
3. TalkTalk
4. Sky Broadband
5. EE
6. BT
7. Plusnet
8. Three Broadband (mobile)

Best Mobile Operator

GWS found that EE provided the Best Mobile Experience by a major operator in the UK. EE performed top in most of the test categories, including reliability, latency, and all three video streaming tasks. In terms of HD streaming, EE came top with 80%. When looking at throughputs, Three UK had the highest download throughput at 63Mbps and was tied with EE for the highest upload throughput at 17Mbps.

Mobile Operator Ranking for H1 2024

1. EE
2. Vodafone
3. Three UK
4. O2

Best Combined Mobile and Broadband Provider

Finally, Virgin Media and O2 were found to have provided the Best Combined Connectivity Experience. While VMO2 performed at or near the top in a majority of the metrics, Sky Mobile also performed well in video streaming and reliability. Interestingly, reliability across all combined providers remained constant when compared to last year’s results.

When looking at throughputs, the fastest average available download throughput by a combined provider was offered by VMO2 at over 150Mbps – well over double the average of its closest rival (EE/BT with an average download throughput of over 65Mbps). When looking at available uploads, VMO2 was also top with an average throughput of 34Mbps.

Combined Mobile and Broadband Ranking for H1 2024

1. O2 + Virgin Media
2. Sky Mobile + Sky Broadband
3. EE + BT
4. Vodafone + Vodafone Broadband
5. EE + EE
6. Three UK + Three Broadband

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS, said:

“We’ve released this report to provide a holistic look at the state of the UK’s wireless connectivity – which includes whether you’re connecting via an ISP or mobile network. What we need from our networks varies depending on where we are – if you’re going to be using your phone at home while sharing a network with other people or devices, most of the time it will require higher speeds than if you’re on the go using your mobile network. Our life isn’t one-dimensional running on one network, so nor should our testing be. That’s why we’ve tested the different types of networks people are accessing on their phones, to provide a more meaningful overview of the UK’s connectivity experience today.”

Sadly, we don’t get a more detailed breakdown of the results for each individual provider, which is a pity as the vague ranking table doesn’t really provide much in the way of useful information. The use of WiFi terminology also suggests that the broadband testing was conducted over a local wireless network, which leaves connections open to all sorts of performance issues due to the highly variable nature of wireless signals in different environments and at different distances. It’s often far better to test over a wired link.

Finally, the study also included ‘Three Broadband’ as an option in the broadband table, which is slightly confusing as they use broadly the same 4G / 5G technology as Three’s regular mobile broadband network. But being able to fairly compare a highly variable mobile network with a modern fibre-based fixed line one is fraught with difficulty.