United Kingdom, January 2026, Mobile Network Experience
Vodafone and Three continue to be reported separately as integration progresses in January 2026. EE continues to dominate the UK mobile experience, while Three tops 5G speeds, and O2 takes the crown for its overall network coverage.
Feb 2026
Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2026
Opensignal sheds light on the difference in the experience seen by our users on different operators across the globe — to better inform users, operators and regulators.
Mar 2024
Vodafone and 3 set to create UK’s leading mobile coverage network post-merger
Our analysis of user experiences with Vodafone and 3 in the U.K. suggests the merger will allow users on the combined network to enjoy Coverage Experience that rivals that of O2
Jan 2024
Mobile network speeds leaped ahead in 2023, but some markets lag behind
Here we review the progression of mobile network user experience that took place over 2023.
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Global 5G benchmark: South Korea’s retreat on mmWave threatens its 5G leadership
South Korea’s leadership position in 5G experience is at risk as other markets deploy mmWave 5G ahead of South Korea. While South Koreans enjoy the fastest overall 5G download and upload speeds in the world, and spend the second highest time with a 5G connection — called 5G Availability — other markets are enjoying a further greater experience boost from mmWave 5G.
Users should upgrade their iPhone to have the best mobile network experience
Even current 5G iPhone users will see an experience boost from switching to a new 5G iPhone — up to 48% faster 5G speeds. iPhone 14 Plus has been more popular than the iPhone Mini in 80% of global markets analyzed. Markets vary in their preference for Pro and large screen iPhones.
Across most UK regions, overall download speeds are rising
In this analysis, we look at the year-on-year (YoY) change in our users’ overall and 5G download speeds across the U.K.’s regions between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023. Across the U.K. overall download speeds are on the rise, with year-on-year (YoY) increases across most regions. However, 5G download speeds have fallen in nine out of 12 regions.
Arrival of eSIM is altering how consumers interact with operators
The switch from a physical SIM card to electronic, threatens to alter how consumers switch operators and will cause operators to adopt new tactics to retain and acquire users. Opensignal’s new analysis shows there is a large increase in the proportion of users switching their operator among those who use an eSIM across seven analyzed markets – Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the U.K. and in the U.S.
Benchmarking the Global 5G Experience — June 2023
The 5G experience continues to evolve. More markets are launching 5G. More spectrum is becoming available and that additional spectrum is boosting capacity and improving users’ experience with faster speeds, and a better video and gaming experience. In this latest global 5G benchmark, Opensignal quantifies how the real-world 5G experience compares.
5G is more consistent than 4G across all hours of the day in the UK
Opensignal’s new analysis shows that with 5G, users’ Games and Video Experience is more consistent and drops less at busy hours of the day than when using 4G. However, while 5G download speeds used to also be more consistent than 4G back in 2022, now there is little difference with 4G, likely because of rising 5G adoption.
Over 14% of smartphone users in the UK see average download speeds below 10Mbps
In this Opensignal analysis, we segment our U.K. users based on the quality of their mobile experience on three measures: Download Speed, Time with no signal and Video Experience.
