You might expect 5G networks to improve over time, as coverage, infrastructure, and investments increase, and over a long enough period of time that typically will happen, but in the latest Speedtest Awards, the results are actually worse than in the previous one.
Covering the second half of 2024, Speedtest compared 2,337,622 user-initiated 5G tests taken on the Speedtest apps, and found that when combining results from every network, the UK’s median 5G download speed was 111.07Mbps, its median 5G upload speed was 11.12Mbps, and its median 5G latency was 31ms, all of which are worse than in the previous six months, other than latency.
And it’s not just one network that’s letting the side down – Three, EE, Vodafone, and O2 all recorded at least marginally lower results in most tests this time.
Still, we wouldn’t read too much into that, as there could be any number of reasons for the variables, including unpredictable things like weather, and with there only being six months between these tests we can’t expect major upgrades to have been made.
Ookla’s 5G Mobile Speeds H2 2024
| |
Median Download Speed
|
Median Upload Speed
|
Median Latency
|
| Overall |
111.07 (Mbps) |
11.12 (Mbps) |
31 (ms) |
| 3 |
236.25 |
12.94 |
29 |
| Vodafone |
149.80 |
11.55 |
31 |
| EE |
100.56 |
11.97 |
30 |
| O2 |
73.86 |
8.46 |
33 |
As for how each individual network did here, Three came out on top – as it did last time – with a median 5G download speed of 236.25Mbps, a median 5G upload speed of 12.94Mbps, and a median 5G latency of 29Mbps, all of which had the other three major networks beat.
Vodafone came second for downloads, with a median 5G download speed of 149.80Mbps, while its median 5G upload speed was third at 11.55Mbps, and its median 5G latency was also third at 31ms.
EE had the third highest median 5G download speed, coming in at 100.56Mbps, while its median upload speed and latency were both second, at 11.97Mbps and 30ms respectively.
O2 came last, but not everywhere
Finally, O2 was last for everything – as it was in the previous test too – with a median 5G download speed of 73.86Mbps, a median 5G upload speed of 8.46Mbps, and a median 5G latency of 33Mbps.
These placements were largely echoed in city-specific results for London, Birmingham, and Manchester, where Three came first for both downloads and uploads, and Vodafone mostly came second, but for download speeds at least O2 actually had EE beat in both Birmingham and Manchester.
The network achieved a respectable median 5G download speed of 144.91Mbps in Birmingham for example, showing that its results aren’t always poor, but other regions – such as London, where its median was just 72.92Mbps – bring the overall median down.
