Mobile operator Three (3) has today moved to answer the question of how much speed its Mobile Broadband customers should expect to receive from their service. The answer is somewhat dependent upon your kit and location, although 3 claims that "most locations across the country" can typically expect 3G based data speeds of between 1-4Mbps.

According to Three (3) UK, this is based on its up to 21Mbps capable HSPA+ technology, which in reality only delivers "a maximum achievable speed per customer of 16Mbps". This rounds down to a highly variable 1-4Mbps after other real life conditions, such as obstacles (trees, buildings etc.) and shared capacity, have had their fun.


Indeed Ofcom reported last year (here) that the average mobile download speed was just 1.5Mbps (Megabits per second), which rises to 2.1Mbps in areas of "good 3G coverage". More recently it confirmed that Three (3) was the most complained about mobile operator in the UK (here) and most of the complaints related to disputed charges and customer service issues.

The good news is that Three (3) is investing in the next generation of 4G ( Long Term Evolution / LTE ) technology and hopes to grab a slice of the 800MHz spectrum in Ofcom's forthcoming auction. Sheppard is "confident" that this will result in its customers being able to benefit from even faster speeds.