UK smartphone users paying for 4G LTE data are only benefitting from the enhanced speeds 53 per cent of the time, new research has revealed.
A report from OpenSignal and the consumer advocate Which shows, on average, Brits are only receiving the next-gen speeds slightly more than half of the time.
The study involved thousands of participants across the UK, who reported their findings to an app.
It found EE users were benefiting from coverage most often, while Three users are experiencing the worst coverage.
Contrarily, the study found, customers on Three were at least receiving the fastest 4G speeds, where available.
The State of Mobile Network report (via BBC) said the UK was falling behind other countries in the field.
It surmised: “
“In our most recent State of LTE report, U.K. operators combined had an average 4G coverage of just 53%, a particularly poor showing considering at least 39 countries offered coverage of 60% or greater.”
Related: What is 5G?
The report revealed the four major operators are still relying heavily on 3G coverage.
While EE led the way with LTE signal 61 per cent of the time, Which claimed the coverage was ‘not good enough.’
“Almost everyone now uses a mobile phone service and it’s not good enough that the UK is lagging behind so many countries with our 4G network coverage,” Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which, said.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.