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Could 40% of UK 5G Mobile Connections Actually be 4G?

A recent study seems to think so. Current research with foundations in monitoring and examining mobile phone reception, appears to show that despite your handset indicating a 5G signal, it actually only has a 4G connection. 

Samples taken from UK testing showed 38% of connections were 4G, even though the 5G icon was being shown. 11,000 tests were carried out over a period of 2 months at the start of this year. 

Why would a handset indicate it’s connected to 5G, if it’s actually using a 4G connection? 

It can differ from phone to phone, but for many if the phone is connected to a base station that has 5G equipment potentially available, then it will show the 5G icon. However, in real usage terms the connection may be using 4G or 5G. 

Some phones will change the distinction of the icon depending on whether an actual 5G connection is made. Others will show the same 5G icon whether the 5G connection is only available or actually connected.

The above image shows an area map of Central London where testing was carried out. The red shows actual 5G connections, and the blue indicates where a 5G icon is displayed but a 4G connection is made. 

As you can see for yourself, a 4G connection being used under the guise of a 5G connection is a common one. 

This issue isn’t anything new, but what is new is the research looking at how this is impacting our connections in the UK. 

With an average speed of 49 Mbps, this recent study found when testing that mobile broadband via actual 5G is approximately twice as fast as where it’s a 5G icon only (27 Mbps). 

Is 4G masquerading as 5G happening across all UK mobile networks? 

The results from this study were taken from a sample across all the UK mobile networks. However, it did find that it was more common with some operators than others to display the 5G icon despite being connected to 4G. 

Let’s have a little look at each mobile network. According to study tests, when the 5G icon is displayed, what percentage of the time are you actually getting a genuine 5G connection?

Three UK:  94% of the time 

Vodafone: 93%

O2: 66% 

EE: 32%

These findings are surprising, as other surveys and studies have found EE to do well in 5G performance in terms of data and coverage.

It’s important to bear in mind that getting a 5G connection everywhere is likely not possible, and people would largely accept a 4G connection in its place where 5G isn’t a possibility. The important bit, perhaps, is the visibility to consumers in terms of what they are actually getting moment to moment. Customers should know whether they are connected 4G or 5G and not just shown a blanket 5G icon where there is merely potential. 

We’re all for using 4G in places where that connection is going to be stronger and more reliable than a 5G connection. But let’s make sure customers are aware when this is happening. 

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Vodafone UK Named as London’s Best Mobile Network by Net Check Study

A recent network benchmarking study looking at 4G and 5G performance (for broadband and calls) across London has named Vodafone UK as the top performing network. 

Based in Berlin, NET CHECK completed their London study of mobile network performance and found that Vodafone achieved the highest number of ranking points – Scoring 932.83 out of 1,000 points.  

Who is NET CHECK?

NET CHECK was founded in 1999 to improve the quality of communication networks. Since then, NET CHECK has become one of the leading partners of network operators and infrastructure providers in the operation and optimisation of mobile and fixed communication networks of all technologies.

When and where was the network study conducted?

Between the 30th October and 7th November, a team from NET CHECK carried out a mix of performance based tests across all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London using Samsung S23+ smartphones. 

Covering 23 routes, the measurement technicians covered a distance of 1018km across Greater London whilst driving. The measuring equipment (SwissQual Benchmarker II (Rohde & Schwarz) and Samsung S23+) was placed in the roof boxes of two passenger cars collecting data on the performance of voice and data services during the tests. This approach allowed performance measurement for all the operators simultaneously and at the same locations. 

How did the network study allocate points?

As we said above, the maximum number of points a network provider can rank is 1,000. This is earned by a max of 350 points for voice services and a max of 650 points for data services. 

The testing involved a range of both voice and data services, with categories including:

  • Accessibility
  • Reliability
  • Speech quality  
  • Mobile broadband speed-tests using customer applications such as the browsing of popular web pages, video streaming and more. 

Sample wise, they collected approximately 15,700 data samples per operator to enable them to accurately analyse data services. For voice services, they made approximately 1,390 test calls. For each test call, they collected 12 speech samples which resulted in approximately 16,600 speech samples in total.

Which networks were close behind frontrunners Vodafone?

As we stated above, Vodafone ranked the highest in terms of points with 932.83 out of 1,000. 

Not far behind them was EE with 923.45 – Only about 9 points less than highest ranking Vodafone. 

In 3rd place it was O2 Virgin Media  with 834.16 points, with Three UK trailing behind its competitors with 757.82 points. 

You can see a summary of results from the study below. To have a read of the full report, head here.

With thanks to NET CHECK for all the tables and imagery, directly from their report.

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Speeds of UK 4G and 5G Mobile Networks Benchmarked by Ofcom Study

Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, has recently published their latest Mobile Matters report for 2024. The report, using crowdsourced data from Opensignal collected between October 2023 and March 2024, has been used to benchmark how UK mobile broadband networks are performing. It includes data for Three UK, O2, Vodafone and EE.  

You might be a bit surprised by some of the results – The study was full of interesting details and revelations. 

Prevalence of 4G Connections Over 5G

Interestingly, over this 6 month period, 78% of cellular network connections were to 4G networks. Just 19.6% of connections were on 5G. 

Where a 5G network was available from their mobile network operator, mobile users were able to access data services on that 5G network on 98.4% of occasions. This is compared to 97.2% on 4G and 85% on 3G. 

More 5G Mobile Connections in Urban Areas than Rural

Mobile Connections via 5G in urban areas were double that of rural areas (20.9% compared to 10.4% respectively). 

Generally, 4G was more prevalent in rural areas than urban. 

Rural – 4G (85.6%), 3G (3.8%)

Urban – 4G (76.9%), 3G (2.1%) 

You may also be interested to see how this differs across the nations. 

And by mobile network operator (MNO). 

As you would expect, 5G networks were found to offer faster downstream connectivity than 4G and 3G. 

The percentages of an average download speed of 100 Mbit/s (or higher) were

5G: 47% 

4G: 11%

3G: 3%

The percentages of an average download speed of under 2Mbit/s were

5G: 1%

4G: 5%

3G: 22%

Which mobile network had the best download speeds over 5G?

The highest share of those higher download speeds on 5G (100Mbit/s and above) went to Three UK with 60%. O2 had the least connections with that download speed over both 5G (32%) and 4G (3%). 

Which Mobile Network Has The Fastest Response Time? (Lowest Latency)

For 5G connections, Three UK had the fastest average response time (16.3 milliseconds). In comparison, the fastest average response time over 4G was EE (18.3ms). O2 again lagged behind, with customers revealing the slowest average response time on 5G (21.4ms) and over on 4G it was Vodafone with the slowest response time (23.7ms).

A Wealth of Mobile Data

This report is packed full of interesting data – Far too much for us to be able to share in one article unfortunately! We’d be here all day.  

We’d certainly recommend perusing the data tables and reading through the results of what Ofcom and Opensignal have to report from consumers over this latest study’s 6 month period. 

You can read the full report here. What stood out most to you?

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Connectivity Alliance – Telecoms Providers Join UK Landowners 

Last week on November 23rd, UK telecommunications providers, infrastructure providers and landowners joined together to form the NCA (National Connectivity Alliance). Why? Well. the main aim is to make collaboration easier on mutual areas of interest as well as aid the rollout of new networks. 

Let’s think about digital infrastructure for a moment – We’re talking about things like trenches for optical fibre cables and mobile masts. It’s easy to see why landowners and digital infrastructure developers might not be on the same wavelength (if you’ll pardon the pun). Previously, landowners would only allow operators to deploy infrastructure on their land in return for high rental fees. This would in turn have a knock on effect for consumers and telecommunications providers as operators would be unable to increase their coverage due to expensive rental fees. 

Back in 2017, the government amended the ECC (Electronic Communications Code) in order to make it more straightforward (and cheaper) for operators to access both public and private land. However, this didn’t have the balancing effect needed and lent instead more in favour of the providers – Some forcing rent of an extremely lower price. 

These lower rents didn’t take into account that landowners had multiple considerations to make like:

  • Facilitating access 
  • Ability to repurpose sites for other ventures (or inability to do so once infrastructure had been deployed)
  • Impact on insurance of any kit fitted to a roof
  • Safety risks for residents near base stations
  • Keeping an area used for deployment in good repair

You can see why this could easily end with disputes in court! Of course, the goal for everyone is to successfully roll out broadband and mobile networks, and the upcoming PSTI bill (Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure) plans to make the changes needed to do just this. 

It’s clear to see that something like the NCA is necessary to help increase collaboration between both landowners and digital infrastructure developers. 

The NCA Chair and Co-Founder is Partner at Blaser Mills Law. Carlos Pierce is thrilled to launch this cross-industry body that will benefit all parties – Including the general public. This new found collective of landowners and digital infrastructure developers will help improve digital connectivity for all. Industry experts bring about best practice, as well as helping landowners to have a deeper understanding of all things digital infrastructure. This combination of education and communication through this NCA collaboration brings an awareness of the needs of all parties in this sector, eventually benefitting the general public. 

The Minister for Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez MP, welcomes this new alliance in support of ‘world class connectivity’ for all people across the UK, regardless or whether they live in a city or rural area. Bringing together industry experts and landowners in this way will go a long way in helping negotiations so that all parties are happy. As a result, we can expect this new NCA to boost connectivity, productivity and even the economy. 

You can find out more about the NCA and what they’re about by visiting their website, or have a read of their latest press release here. 

Image from https://www.ncalliance.org.uk

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