Which mobile network has the fastest 5G connections?

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember how the launches of 3G and 4G were hailed as game-changing in terms of connecting to the wider world using mobile phones.

Few such claims have been made about 5G, and for several good reasons.

Firstly, 4G networks are already capable of transmitting data at 1Gbps – as fast as the most advanced full-fibre home broadband networks can presently manage.

Secondly, 5G has been hindered by legal arguments over bandwidth auctions and limited rollout, with the latter further exacerbated by 2020’s lockdowns.

Thirdly, the demands we make of our smartphones are hardly demanding of 5G connectivity.

Apps and services have been streamlined to minimise bandwidth requirements, while SD video streaming provides a perfectly satisfactory picture when viewed on a six-inch handset.

However, if you’re an avid MMORPGer, or if your life isn’t complete without a daily dose of The Grand Tour in 4K, it’s still helpful to recognise which are the fastest 5G networks in the UK.

Picking apart a puzzle

It’s difficult to assign a title of ‘fastest 5G network’ because it’s not always obvious which data has been transmitted on 4G or 5G.

Smartphones can switch between these two connections, and often do so without us even noticing.

Telecoms analysis company Point Topic attempted to differentiate the two last month by categorising data transfers over 100Mbps as 5G, even though 4G can often accomplish these speeds.

Their analysis suggested EE delivered the best 5G performance, supporting their marketing claim to be the best 5G network in the 112 towns and cities they’ve so far launched in.

Point Topic found little to split Vodafone or Three, with O2 carrying home the wooden spoon in a test based on a small sample frame of just over 3,000 tests.

Their findings also mirrored previous analysis by Opensignal that suggested 5G speeds are only around four times faster than 4G, due to limited bandwidth availability.

For that, you can thank legal action against Ofcom’s plans to auction 5G frequencies, leaving the UK with just a 50MHz sliver of bandwidth around 3.4GHz.

Later this month, the long-delayed auction of the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz bands should finally give the fastest 5G networks a real point of difference compared to 4G.

Lower frequencies travel over much larger distances for more stable connections, whereas higher frequencies accelerate data transfer speeds.

A single 700MHz tower could cover hundreds of square miles at speeds of up to 250Mbps, while a 3.8GHz tower could deliver gigabit speeds across one square mile.

Combining the two will help to deliver the always-on promises made at 5G’s launch, and then can we accurately examine individual network performance.

For now, there’s little to differentiate the UK’s big four mobile companies (on whose infrastructure every other mobile provider piggybacks) in terms of being the fastest 5G network.