Internet speed test
GB

United Kingdom

Cell Coverage Comparison

Compare cellular network coverage from major carriers across the United Kingdom. Our coverage data is collected from millions of real-world speed tests to help you find the best carrier for your area.

Compare carriers

How do the carriers compare in the United Kingdom?

Speed and reliability ratings for the major carriers in the United Kingdom, from millions of crowdsourced speed tests.

EE

Our pick

The fastest and most consistent network here.

Overall
Very good
Performance
Very good
Reliability
Very good

  • Download speed62.0 Mbps
  • Upload speed9.8 Mbps
  • Latency30 ms
  • Speed testsover 36,000

Bars compare each carrier with the best result here. Speeds are medians from real speed tests.

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Three

Middle ground

Rated good overall here, with performance its strongest score.

Overall
Good
Performance
Good
Reliability
Good

  • Download speed50.0 Mbps
  • Upload speed7.2 Mbps
  • Latency39 ms
  • Speed testsover 27,000

Bars compare each carrier with the best result here. Speeds are medians from real speed tests.

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Vodafone

Slower speeds

Has the slowest downloads here.

Overall
Good
Performance
Fair
Reliability
Good

  • Download speed26.9 Mbps
  • Upload speed5.7 Mbps
  • Latency38 ms
  • Speed testsover 33,000

Bars compare each carrier with the best result here. Speeds are medians from real speed tests.

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O2

Middle ground

Rated fair overall here, with reliability its strongest score.

Overall
Fair
Performance
Fair
Reliability
Fair

  • Download speed28.6 Mbps
  • Upload speed5.2 Mbps
  • Latency43 ms
  • Speed testsover 40,000

Bars compare each carrier with the best result here. Speeds are medians from real speed tests.

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Speed tests

Network performance in the United Kingdom

Get a complete view of mobile performance across the United Kingdom with both nationwide benchmarks and carrier-by-carrier breakdowns. Explore median performance metrics calculated from millions of real-world, crowdsourced speed tests. Start with the country-wide snapshot to understand overall trends, then dive deeper to compare individual carriers side-by-side and see how each performs in speed, responsiveness, and availability.

Median Performance

Download

39.2Mbps

Upload

6.7Mbps

Latency

36ms

Reliability

5.1/ 10

Top Performers

Best Download: EE

62.0 Mbps

Best Upload: EE

9.8 Mbps

Best Latency: EE

30 ms

Best Reliability: EE

6.3 / 10

Based on over 130,000 speed tests

Browse carriers

Carriers in the United Kingdom

Browse mobile network operators (MNOs) and virtual network operators (MVNOs) available in the United Kingdom. Click on a carrier to see detailed performance information, coverage maps, plan details, and more.

EE
MNO
2GLTE5G NR
O2
MNO
2G3GLTE5G NR
Three
MNO
LTE5G NR
Vodafone
MNO
2GLTE5G NR
1GLOBAL
MVNO
EE
1pMobile
MVNO
EE
View all carriers

By Constituent Country

Constituent Countries in the United Kingdom

Select one of the constituent countries to view coverage data for that area.

England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales

FAQ

Questions about cell coverage in the United Kingdom

Based on crowdsourced speed tests across the United Kingdom, EE currently leads in median download speeds. Open "See the numbers" on the carrier cards above to compare every carrier's speeds.

We aggregate speed tests from real devices in the United Kingdom and calculate the median download speed, upload speed, latency, and reliability values across all carriers. Reliability blends speed consistency and coverage quality to estimate how dependable a network feels in everyday use. Results update as new tests are submitted, and we typically update the values every week.

The network performance values summarize median download speed, upload speed, latency, and reliability across all carriers in the United Kingdom. Higher download and upload speeds with lower latency indicate faster responsiveness, while a higher reliability score indicates more dependable real-world performance.

Each carrier card has a five-dot rating for performance and reliability, plus an overall rating. Performance is the typical download and upload speeds and response time in real speed tests. Reliability is how fast the slowest 10% of tests are and how often tests connect, so it shows how a network holds up when it's busy. We don't have coverage data for the United Kingdom, so there is no coverage rating, and the overall rating weighs reliability 60% and performance 40%. A whole country takes in wide areas nobody lives in, so country-wide ratings are more lenient than the ratings on state, county, and city pages.

The reliability score in the performance section summarizes how dependable mobile performance is in the United Kingdom. It is separate from the five-dot reliability rating on the carrier cards. It uses a 0.0 to 10.0 scale (higher is better) and is calculated from real-world speed test percentiles with weighted components: download (50%), latency (30%), and upload (20%). It evaluates the lower-end experience using the bottom 10%, 5%, and 1% percentiles when enough samples are available. If local speed testing is limited, a coverage-based fallback is used from signal quality distribution (great/good/poor).

MNOs own and operate the cellular network infrastructure, while MVNOs lease access to those networks and sell service under their own brand. MVNOs have the same network coverage as the MNOs they lease from.

We currently are tracking 22 total carriers in the United Kingdom. There are 4 MNOs operating their own networks and 18 MVNOs.

Use the interactive map to check signal strength at your exact address. Visit the CoverageMap interactive map to explore 4G/5G availability.

Download the CoverageMap app and run a few speed tests with location enabled. Your results help improve coverage accuracy and unlock local rankings faster.

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