Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Alternative network provider and UK ISP Truespeed has today confirmed that they’ve “agreed in principle” to merge with County Broadband in order to create a single operator covering 177,000 premises (RFS) and 40,000 customers. Both operators have built full fibre (FTTP) broadband networks across various rural parts of England.

At present Truespeed is mostly focused upon serving rural premises in parts of Devon, Wiltshire and Somerset, where they’ve already covered over 109,000 premises (RFS) and are home to over 24,000 customers. But the operator originally held an “ambitious” overall target of reaching 500,000 properties, although that took a hit after some job losses and a build slowdown (here and here).

Meanwhile, County Broadband has been busy rolling out their own FTTP network across rural parts of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk in England (i.e. they’ve been building to over 250 villages, but we haven’t had any detail on premises passed or take-up). The operator once held a similar ambition of reaching 500,000 premises, but that too suffered a setback in 2023 after they confirmed redundancies (here).

Suffice to say that both operators are known to have been under many of the same strains as other players in the wider UK market (i.e. rising build costs, high interest rates and competition). As a result, we weren’t surprised when several sources informed us last year that the pair were working toward a merger agreement (both are backed by Aviva), although it’s taken until now for them to finally confirm the development.

The merger brings together two “highly complementary networks and teams“, combining Truespeed’s presence in the South West with County Broadband’s footprint across East Anglia. The combined entity – Truespeed Communications Group Ltd – will serve 177,000 fully Ready-For-Service premises, with 40,000 customers already connected to the network and will be led by James Lowther (Truespeed’s current CEO).

James Lowther said:

“This merger represents an important milestone for both companies and for rural broadband in the UK. Both companies have invested extensively in building ultrafast broadband for underserved parts of the country. Now, we’re coming together to ensure those networks deliver the best possible experience for our customers — today and for decades to come.”

John East, Chairman of County Broadband, said:

“We’re proud of what we’ve built at County Broadband, and this merger is the logical next step for our business and our customers. Together with Truespeed, we’ll be able to even better serve our communities and help to bridge the digital divide.”

The new group is said to have the “full backing of Aviva Investors Limited” and its “focus will be on combining the strengths of both businesses to optimise future growth within its existing footprint“. In practice this means a greater focus on growing customer take up, unlocking operational efficiencies, enhancing customers’ experience and “[providing] an even stronger platform for future investment and further consolidation.”

Following completion (we’re told this will occur in August 2025), customers of both providers have been told to “expect a seamless transition” with “no change to their current services“. Both businesses will also continue to trade under their own names for the “immediate future“. But there was no word on any fresh investment, plans for future network expansion or the possibility of a revamped wholesale offer to help rival ISPs access their network.

Crucially, the combined network is still relatively small in terms of premises passed (it may become a target for consolidators), although the rural nature of both networks does mean that they have quite a wide geographic reach.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

After much debate, the UK telecoms regulator has today agreed to reduce the total amount paid by the primary mobile network operators – EE, O2 and Vodafone / Three UK – to use the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz radio spectrum bands by around £60m per year. The bands support the use of 2G and 4G mobile (mobile broadband) services.

The cost of Annual Licence Fees (ALF) remains a highly divisive subject for the mobile operators, which often complain that hikes in this area can mean price rises for consumers and less investment going toward their networks. The cost of such fees can, however, be influenced by various different factors, such as the ongoing removal of 3G services and the desire to make modern 5G services available via the same bands etc. Not to mention any changes in the supply and demand conditions since the fees were set.

In case anybody has forgotten, Ofcom, which was prompted by evidence submitted via BT, has been investigating a “material misalignment between our fees and the underlying market value of the relevant spectrum” since early 2024. Back in December 2024 this resulted in a proposal to reduce the ALFs for the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands by 21% (here), while fees for the 2100MHz band would increase by 12%.

The mobile operators were clearly unhappy with Ofcom’s approach and several complained of errors in their calculations, as evidenced through feedback published in April 2025 (here). But the good news today is that the regulator’s final decision has updated the calculation and indicated that operators will now save an estimated combined total of £60m a year (up from the prior proposal of £40m).

Ofcom’s ALF Decision

We have decided to revise the ALFs we charge for mobile spectrum as follows:

• For 900 MHz spectrum, we will reduce the ALFs to £1.032m per MHz (a 26% reduction from current levels).

• For 1800 MHz spectrum, we will reduce ALFs to £0.760m per MHz (also a 26% reduction from current levels).

• For 2100 MHz spectrum, we will increase ALFs to £0.722m per MHz (a 6% increase from current levels).

Overall, this will reduce the total ALFs that MNOs pay from around £325m to around £265m, a reduction of 18%.

These changes to ALFs give effect to the proposals set out in our December 2024 consultation, with modifications to:

• reduce the lump sum values (“LSVs”) we consulted on by 5% to account for a potential modest reduction in spectrum values since the last two UK auctions, and to ensure that we set LSVs conservatively; and

• reduce the annualisation rate from 6.38% to 6.33%, primarily to reflect an updated view on the inflation risk premium and inflation expectations.

In addition, as we proposed in our February 2025 consultation, we have decided to:

• allow the MNOs to pay ALFs in 12, rather than 10, monthly instalments; and

• change the date on which fees for the 2100 MHz spectrum become due, to align with the date on which fees become due for 900 and 1800 MHz spectrum.

Ofcom hopes to ensure that “spectrum is used efficiently” by aiming to set their ALFs based on an estimate of the forward-looking market value of the spectrum in each of the bands, although some mobile operators like Three UK still think the whole concept of ALFs should be “abolished” (here). But for now it appears as if the regulator intends to continue with the above approach.

“While the amount of money saved by each mobile network operator will vary because they hold different amounts of spectrum in each of these bands, all operators will benefit from these changes, strengthening their ability to invest in the UK. We will make the Regulations that will give effect to our decisions later this year,” said Ofcom’s statement.

Separately, the regulator has today opened a new consultation on amending the Mobile Trading Regulations. The proposed change would remove the requirement that mobile network operators pay all instalments of their ALFs before trading spectrum they hold. This would remove a potential barrier to spectrum trading, which could encourage efficient use of spectrum. The consultation will remain open for responses until 12th Sept 2025.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

A new survey of 300 alternative networks, ISPs, suppliers and other companies has found that 83% of altnet decision makers believe their companies will grow over the next year, while 77% said they are planning to increase their investment in the coming 12 months. Similarly, 70% believe the forthcoming consolidation will have a positive impact.

Most alternative broadband networks (altnets) across the market are currently looking at consolidation as a way of balancing against the difficult market conditions that have arisen over the past few years. Much of this has been driven by high interest rates, rising build costs and strong competition – all of which is making it hard to raise fresh investment and expand networks.

In fact, we’ve already seen this squeeze resulting in quite a few sizeable consolidation agreements taking place (e.g. Netomnia + Brsk and CityFibre + Lit Fibre and Connexin etc.), and many industry observers expect the current crop of c.80 altnets to shrink down into a market dominated by just a handful or two of players over the coming years.

Meanwhile, the altnets that have yet to consolidate are often switching their strategies from network build to greater commercialisation, which means putting more effort into growing their customer base (inc. quite a few redundancies as the workforce is refocused). But despite all this, the new Altnet Confidence Index 2025 from Proactive International PR and Censuswide indicates that many altnets remain optimistic.

James Page, Proactive International PR CEO, said:

“There has been a view for some time now that the UK’s alternative broadband sector was in decline. With investors demanding to see returns on their investment and customers’ unwillingness to pay substantially higher prices for higher speed services, the future seemed to consist only of mergers, acquisitions and a sharply diminishing number of companies remaining in the market … We wanted to gauge how the sector was feeling – and the results are surprising.”

Summary of Key Results

➤ 23% of respondents are predicting significant growth and, when looking ahead to 5 years, 77% anticipate growth over that time.

➤ ‘Sustainability’ was the biggest priority for investment (39%), even above network build, on which 25% of respondents planned to spend.

➤ ‘Technological advancements’ were cited as the biggest driver by 45% of respondents, while ‘Private equity and investor interest’ and ‘Increased demand for high-speed internet’ each gave 35% of professionals reason to be positive. Other reasons given included ‘Competitive differentiation and market gaps’ (33%), ‘Fibre rollout and infrastructure expansion’ (33%) and ‘Resilience of the industry’ (30%).

➤ ‘Rising operational costs’ still worry 37% of respondents, as do ‘Increased regulatory pressures.’ A further 31% of respondents said ‘Consolidation of smaller players reducing opportunities’ was a concern.

ISPreview has similarly noted a great deal of positivity coming from altnets across the sector, although it’s not uncommon for even troubled businesses to continue to accentuate the positives – often right up until the moment they no longer exist as an independent entity. But it’s worth considering that the feedback might have been quite different if the survey had focused on the engineers and wider workforce, those who tend to suffer the most when strategies change and builds slow.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

Ofcom has introduced changes to its existing licence for the 3.9GHz (3925 – 4009MHz) radio spectrum band, which among other things will adjust the authorised frequency from 3925-4009MHz to 3800-3884MHz (i.e. making it more efficient) and allow Three UK (VodafoneThree) to harness it for fixed wireless and 5G based mobile broadband services (Three Home Broadband).

In case anybody has forgotten. Mobile network operator Three UK previously asked Ofcom (here) to consider making a useful technical change to its existing licence for the 3.9GHz band. This is held by their sibling UK Broadband Limited company, but was previously only intended to be used with 4G fixed wireless services.

Ofcom have now completed their consultations on this request and granted a number of changes, which should also improve spectrum availability for Shared Access users (i.e. spectrum sharing with smaller or private network projects etc.).

Ofcom’s Changes for the 3.8 – 4.2GHz Band

To achieve more efficient use of the 3.8 – 4.2 GHz band than at present, we have decided to:

• Vary the technical terms in the 3.9 GHz licence in line with H3G’s request to support the use of 5G technology to enhance its FWA offering (the licence will continue to be limited to fixed use);

• Introduce a requirement for H3G to use the spectrum ‘assignments’ that it requests (a ‘use clause’), which will enable us to remove unused assignments – freeing up unused spectrum for use by other users. This requirement will be phased in over five years.

• Change the technical assumptions used for coordinating H3G with Shared Access users, which will improve spectrum sharing by reducing the geographical area that each of H3G’s assignments prevents from being used by Shared Access users.

• Move the 3.9 GHz licence to the bottom of the 3.8 – 4.2 GHz band by changing the permitted frequencies from 3925 – 4009 MHz to 3800 – 3884 MHz. We will also ask Shared Access users currently overlapping with the 3800 – 3884 MHz frequency range to retune (within 18 months) to frequencies above 3884 MHz. These moves will improve spectrum efficiency by placing H3G’s assignments at the bottom of band rather than in the middle, thereby reducing fragmentation and increasing the total amount of useable spectrum for Shared Access users.

The planned move of Shared Access users is in line with the conditions in all Shared Access licences which require equipment to be capable of transmitting across the relevant band (in this case 3.8 – 4.2 GHz) and enable Ofcom to change the frequency authorised within the band. However, recognising stakeholder feedback, we are providing options for Shared Access users to remain at their current frequency for longer to facilitate their frequency move

The regulator adds that Shared Access users will also have the option not to move (retune) if they have reached a coordination agreement with Three UK or if they are happy to accept the risk of interference when Three UK deploys the change, but they must inform Ofcom of their choice within 90 days. “If they remain at risk, they will receive advance notice from H3G of any deployment that causes interference to them,” added Ofcom.

However, despite the changes, Ofcom has highlighted how several market and regulatory developments relating to this band could still result in them changing their approach in the future. For example, the EU is working on harmonisation of the band for private and local networks, while the USA is exploring the use of 3.98 – 4.2 GHz for high-power mobile, among other things.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

News

Oracle has unveiled a substantial $3 billion investment to significantly expand its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Europe. This strategic commitment is designed to meet soaring demand for AI services and sovereign cloud solutions, catering to enterprises, public sector entities, and AI developers amid an evolving technological landscape.

In the Netherlands, Oracle plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years, concentrating its efforts in the Amsterdam region to enhance its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) capabilities. This development aims to empower a wide range of organisations – from large enterprises to startups and public institutions – by providing more robust AI and sovereign cloud services. Wilfred Scholman, Oracle’s vice president and country leader in the Netherlands, highlighted the nation’s dynamic technology ecosystem and governmental ambitions to foster a technology-driven industrial environment. Key sectors targeted include financial services, logistics, life sciences, and energy, where organisations are actively migrating workloads to the cloud, modernising applications, and leveraging cutting-edge AI innovation. Oracle asserts its unique position as the only hyperscaler able to deliver over 200 AI and cloud services across various environments, including edge, customer data centres, multi-cloud, and public cloud settings, which is critical for addressing stringent EU data privacy requirements and minimising latency.

Meanwhile, Germany will see a $2 billion investment focused on expanding Oracle’s OCI footprint in Frankfurt, reinforcing AI infrastructure capacity in tandem with the country’s commitment to digital transformation and industrial evolution. Thorsten Herrmann, Oracle Germany’s senior vice president and country leader, emphasised that this investment aims to accelerate AI and cloud transformation across numerous sectors, supporting Germany’s ambition to cement itself as a leading hub for AI innovation in Europe. The initiative is particularly designed to benefit manufacturing, automotive, renewable energy, healthcare, and scientific research sectors. Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital Affairs, Karsten Wildberger, welcomed the development, noting that it positions Germany as an attractive centre for digital innovation and investment.

Don’t forget – the best place to learn more about the transformation of Germany’s connectivity landscape is Connected Germany. Find out more about how you can get involved.

These investments not only reflect Oracle’s intent to expand its European cloud infrastructure but also align with broader strategic imperatives related to data sovereignty and compliance with stringent EU regulations. Oracle’s focus on sovereign cloud services, such as OCI Dedicated Region and Oracle Cloud@Customer, addresses growing demands for localised data governance and regulatory adherence—an increasingly critical factor for both public institutions and private enterprises operating under tight data protection regimes. This places Oracle in a competitive race alongside other major hyperscalers like Google, Microsoft, and AWS, all seeking to establish sovereign cloud presences across Europe.

Additionally, Oracle’s expansion efforts are connected to its collaboration with OpenAI, particularly within the Stargate initiative, which involves the development of advanced AI data centre infrastructure globally. While financial returns from this partnership may not surface until 2028, it underscores Oracle’s forward-looking approach to AI infrastructure investment, positioning the company to capitalise on the technology’s accelerating adoption worldwide.

By bolstering infrastructure in two of Europe’s most pivotal markets, Oracle is strategically advancing its capabilities to serve the increasing demand for AI innovation, digital transformation, and sovereign cloud services across the continent. This investment not only supports existing industries but also strengthens the foundation for startups and new AI ventures, enabling European organisations to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes while fostering technological growth.

How appropriate… this article is part of the Total Telecom AI content creation trial and is supplied by Noah Wire Services. Let us know if you spot any errors.

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

30 government-funded mast upgrades have now been activated in Wales as part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) – a programme brokered by the UK government and joint-funded with mobile network operators to improve mobile coverage in rural areas. Across the whole of the UK, 56 masts are now live as part of the SRN.

Rural towns and villages throughout Wales are benefiting from faster, more reliable mobile coverage as one of the latest government-funded 4G network upgrades were switched on.
It means residents, local businesses and community organisations in areas including Llangernyw, Pandy Tudur, Gwytherin, Cwmystwyth, Llanymawddwy, can now take advantage of better connectivity. These activations also bring enhanced connectivity to Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, Eryri National Park and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including Wye Valley and Bryniau Clwyd a Dyffryn Dyfrdwy.

These activations also bring coverage from all four mobile network operators to the equivalent of over 2,500 km of roads across Wales.

The boost to coverage has been carried out by upgrading existing mobile masts which previously only connected EE customers and anyone making 999 calls, meaning communities can benefit from improved connectivity without the need for additional infrastructure.

The improvements will enable residents, tourists and businesses to access reliable 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators – EE, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree – helping close the digital divide between urban and rural communities and boosting economic growth across the nations.

Ben Roome, CEO of Mova said: “Thirty new EAS masts are now live in the Welsh hills. For the first time, signals from every mobile network are threading through valleys and reaching a further 2,500 kilometres of road—bringing connectivity to residents, businesses, and anyone passing through. Thanks to the Shared Rural Network, not-spots are shrinking, connections are growing, and more coverage is on its way.”

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “Funded by UK Government investment, 30 new sites in Wales now have fast and reliable mobile internet access in areas which were previously poorly served. Reliable connectivity improves every aspect of day-to-day life in rural Wales and makes a huge difference for local businesses, residents, and visitors.

“This is an important step forward in our mission to kickstart the economy and unlock opportunity in rural areas across Wales.”

Since the Shared Rural Network programme began in 2020, an additional 34,000 square kilometres – an area equivalent to roughly double the size of Northern Ireland or 4.6 million football pitches – are receiving coverage from all four operators, EE, Three, VMO2 and Vodafone across the UK.

Through the SRN programme, the UK government and the UK’s four mobile network operators have already provided 4G coverage to an additional 280,000 premises and 16,000km of the UK’s roads. The UK government is investing £184 million to upgrade Extended Area Service (EAS) masts to provide coverage from all four mobile operators. Currently, commercial coverage from EAS masts is only available from EE – the operator responsible for the Emergency Services Network.

Mobile operators have also invested over £500 million to target ‘partial not spots’ across the UK, where customers can only access 4G if they are signed up with a mobile network operator that is active in the area.

Lucie Smith, Director of Programmes, Mova joins a panel “Rural and the very-hard-to-reach; closing the connectivity gap” at Connected Britain this September. Sign up to join here at http://www.totaltele.com/connectedbritain

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, announces the opening of a second Point of Presence (PoP) in Thessaloniki to meet the growing demand for international connectivity in Greece and in the Balkan region.

Located in a growing neutral data center in northern Greece, the new PoP delivers Tier-1 IP transit and capacity services to national and regional network operators, ISPs, OTTs, enterprises, content delivery networks, content and application providers, enabling secure, low-latency, and scalable international connectivity.

Additionally, customers have access to a comprehensive suite of IP solutions, including DDoS Protection, which safeguards networks against cyberattacks, and Virtual NAP, providing virtual access to leading Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) without the need for proprietary infrastructure development.

The PoP is integrated into Sparkle’s proprietary fiber infrastructure, which forms a robust ring topology interconnecting Thessaloniki northward to Bulgaria, eastward to Istanbul, southward to Chania, and westward to Albania. Through the connection with Chania, customers will also gain access to high-capacity routes via the BlueMed submarine cable system, linking Italy with France, Greece, and several countries bordering the Mediterranean, with further extensions reaching the Middle East and all the way to Mumbai, India.

“We believe that Thessaloniki is set to become a key commercial and digital hub for the Balkans,” said Daniele Mancuso, CEO of Sparkle Greece. “With this new PoP, we are not only strengthening our presence in the city but also enabling resilient, high-performance connectivity across Southeastern Europe. Our continued investments in Greece are a clear sign of our long-term vision for the region.”

With two PoPs in Thessaloniki and a total of eight across the country, four data centers between Athens and Chania, and a comprehensive portfolio of ICT and telco services – including also SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, messaging, roaming and voice solutions -, Sparkle confirms its role as a leading enabler of digital transformation in the country and beyond.

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s Global Operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. A major player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber spanning from Europe to Africa and the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Its sales force is active worldwide and distributed over 32 countries.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

Media Contacts:

sparkle.communication@tisparkle.com

X: @TISparkle

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Up-Connect, a leading provider of wayleave and property services, is celebrating its five-year anniversary with impressive milestones that underscore its rapid expansion and industry influence.

Founded in 2020 by directors Scott Curtis and Charles Thomas, the company has grown from a two-person team to an ever-growing team of wayleave surveyors and property specialists operating across multiple locations throughout the UK. With a growing client base and an expanding footprint, Up-Connect has firmly established itself as a trusted partner in the broadband and utilities sectors.

“Seeing how far we’ve come in just five years is incredibly rewarding. We’ve built a business that not only excels in prioritising strong relationships with clients, industry partners and local landowners, but also in our deep knowledge of the technical aspects of the property services which we provide.  “ said Scott Curtis.

Last year, the company was recognised at the UK Fibre Awards, winning the prestigious Best Business Services category—a testament to its dedication to quality and efficiency, and this year were triple finalists across categories including Best in Services, Best Vendor/Supplier, and Rollout Challenge Buster. Up-Connect’s wayleave support services now span 16 counties, covering areas such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and East Sussex, enabling the rollout of full-fibre broadband to hard-to-reach premises.

Within the broadband industry, Up-Connect has secured its reputation as a trusted partner, working with the UK’s leading fibre providers, actively contributing to the UK’s digital infrastructure growth. Over the past 12 months alone, Up-Connect has secured well over 1,000 wayleaves ensuring seamless coordination with landowners.

“Our ability to consistently deliver is what sets us apart. Completing wayleave agreements in an average of just 32 calendar days speaks to the efficiency and expertise of our team, and our willingness to build relationships with landowners and public sector bodies,” noted Charles Thomas.

As Up-Connect marks this milestone, its continued commitment to excellence and industry leadership remains clear. With operations spanning multiple sectors—including fibre broadband, utilities, leisure, and sport—the company is poised for sustained growth in the years

Up-Connect are exhibiting at Connected Britain in September – join them there, register today

Original article Total Telecom:Read More

Press Release

Anritsu Service Assurance announced its joining of Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program across global telecom and enterprise sectors. Anritsu and Ericsson have partnered to ensure network reliability and enhanced customer experience for next-generation 5G and LTE networks.

Anritsu Service Assurance, a division of Anritsu Corporation, has over 25 years of experience delivering telecom-grade monitoring, troubleshooting, and anomaly detection solutions to Tier-1 Communication Service Providers (CSPs) worldwide. Focusing on cloud-native, AI-enhanced service assurance, Anritsu empowers operators and enterprises to manage the complexities of 5G, private networks, and Industry 4.0. Trusted globally, Anritsu supports over 1 billion subscribers and partners with 10 Tier-1 operators.

“Partnering with Ericsson as part of the Technology Alliance Partner Program is a proud milestone for Anritsu,” said Ralf Iding, CEO of Anritsu Service Assurance. “Together with Ericsson, we can help our customers embrace transformation with cloud-first, AI-driven network assurance solutions that guarantee performance, optimise automation, and elevate customer and device experience for the private networks of tomorrow.”

Ericsson’s Enterprise Wireless Solutions enable organisations to innovate, operate, and grow anywhere, without constraints. Anritsu and Ericsson help customers optimise real-time performance, reduce downtime, and achieve superior satisfaction with AI-driven network intelligence.

Sebastian Elmgren, Business Development Executive at Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions said:” As IT and OT networks begin to converge, and networks become complex, Anritsu’s service assurance services provide enterprises the peace-of-mind when building next-generation 5G networks.”

About Anritsu Service Assurance

Anritsu Service Assurance provides AI-driven monitoring and automation solutions that help telecom operators optimise network performance and deliver superior customer experiences. With deep domain expertise in 5G, fixed broadband, and cloud-native operations, Anritsu enables faster fault resolution, operational efficiency, and digital transformation at scale.

Original article ISPreview UK:Read More

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has today published their 2025 Mobile Matters report, which uses Opensignal’s crowdsourced data (collected between October 2024 and March 2025) to benchmark the performance of UK mobile broadband networks by both technology (2G to 5G), nation and operator choice – including Three UK, O2, Vodafone and EE.

The results hold few surprises, but do still reveal some interesting details. For example, 71% of cellular network connections are now on 4G (down from 78% last year), while 28% are on 5G (up from 19.6%), 0.7% are on 3G (most mobile operators have now retired this) and just 0.2% remain on 2G. In urban areas of the UK, 29% of network connections were on 5G, compared to 19% in rural areas.

The study also added that 2% of network connections were made over the latest and fastest end-to-end 5G Standalone (SA) networks. Ofcom’s analysis further showed that 5G SA provided “significantly higher download speeds” than non-standalone 5G (NSA), with file download times about 45% faster on average. Standalone 5G also has lower latency. On the flip side, 5G SA had a lower average connection success rate (96%) than NSA 5G connections (98%), but that’s hardly a big difference.

In terms of individual mobile operators, EE had the highest proportion of network connections on 5G (32%), while Vodafone had the lowest for 5G (24%), but the highest share on 4G (76%). O2 had the lowest share of 4G connections (68%) and the highest proportion on 3G (3%), which isn’t surprising as they were one of the last to begin retiring their old 3G network.

The full report remains somewhat of a scatter gun blast of information, but Ofcom does provide an expanded summary of the key highlights.

Ofcom’s Mobile Matters 2025 Results

5G standalone vs 5G non-standalone performance
• 5G standalone accounted for 2% of all 5G connection attempts in the six months to March 2025. There are two main types of 5G: 5G standalone (5G SA) and 5G non-standalone (5G NSA), 5G SA being the more recent technology. UK MNOs have started to offer 5G SA but its use is currently low.

• Standalone 5G’s average response time (latency) was about 15% lower (better) than for 5G NSA. However, our analysis also indicated that 5G SA had a lower average connection success rate (95.9%) than 5G NSA (97.6%), although this was slightly higher than 4G’s.

• 5G SA provided significantly higher download speeds than 5G NSA. Seventy per cent of 5G SA download speeds measurements were at 100 Mbit/s or higher, compared to 46% for 5G NSA, and 2MB, 5MB and 10MB file download times, on average, were about 45% faster on 5G SA than over 5G NSA.

• However, the picture was more mixed for uploads. While 5G NSA had a higher proportion of low-speed connections (18% of 5G NSA upload speeds provided less than 2 Mbit/s compared to 10% on 5G SA) it also had a slightly higher share of higher-speed connections (30% of 5G NSA uploads were 20 Mbit/s or higher vs 28% on 5G SA).

Video streaming tests

• Overall, 98.2% of 30-second video streams completed without interruption over 5G. This was a slightly higher proportion than over 4G (96.6%) and much higher than the 88.3% 3G average. At an overall UK level, a higher proportion of 5G and 4G video streams completed without interruption in in urban areas than in rural areas.

Mobile network share and data connection success rate

• Over a quarter (28.3%) of network connection attempts were to 5G networks in 2025. This was a year-on-year increase of 8.8pp, largely at the expense of 4G, for which there was a 7.2pp decline in its share of connections.

• There was a small increase in the proportion of connections to 2G networks. This was very small (up by less than 0.1pp to 0.2%). The proportion of connections on 3G networks declined year on year, as these are being closed down.

• Mobile users with a 5G compatible tariff and device were able to access 5G services 97.6% of the time when their provider had 5G coverage. This was higher than the 95.7% average for 4G services and 76.6% for 3G.

• Our report shows year-on-year declines across several performance metrics, including data connection success rates. However, when performance dipped, the falls were generally not large enough to affect the user experience, and could be due to factors other than network performance. Data connection success rates fell for both 5G and 4G in 2025, down by 0.8pp and 1.5pp respectively.

MNO comparisons

• EE had the highest proportion of network connections that were on 5G, at 31.9%. Vodafone had the lowest proportion of connections on 5G (23.8%) and the highest share on 4G, at 75.7%. O2 customers had the lowest share of 4G connections (67.9%) and the highest proportion on 3G (3.3%), while Vodafone customers had the highest proportion on 2G (0.5%).

• Three had the highest average connection success rate over 5G, while Vodafone’s was the highest over 4G. However, the differences between the MNOs’ 5G and 4G data connection success rates were small – there was less than 1pp difference between the lowest and highest recorded MNO success rates for each technology.

• Across both 5G and 4G, a slightly higher proportion of EE video streams completed successfully than on the other MNOs’ networks, although the differences between EE and the lowest-performing MNOs (O2 and Three jointly over 5G, and Three on 4G) were not large, averaging around two percentage points (pp) for each technology.

• Three had the lowest (best) response time (latency) over 5G, while EE’s was the lowest over 4G. Average response times (latency) for the MNOs ranged from 15 to 21 milliseconds (ms) for 5G and from 18ms to 23ms for 4G. O2’s average response times were slightly higher than the other MNOs’ on both 5G and 4G, although they were still sufficient to give a good user experience for even the most demanding online activities.

• Three’s download speeds tended to be faster than the other MNOs’ on 5G, while EE compared well over 4G. Three had the shortest download times for 2MB, 5MB and 10MB files over 5G, followed by Vodafone, while EE was fastest across all file sizes over 4G, although these differences were quite small. O2 had the lowest proportion of connections with a 100 Mbit/s or higher download speed over both 5G (33%) and 4G (4%).

• EE had the highest proportion of upload speed tests at 20 Mbit/s or higher over both 5G and 4G (38% and 19% respectively). O2 had the lowest proportions of 5G and 4G upload speed tests at 20 Mbit/s or higher (21% and 8% respectively).

Comparisons by nation and rurality

• The proportion of connections on 5G networks continued to be higher in urban areas of the UK (29.5%) than in rural areas (18.8%). 5G’s share of connections increased in urban and rural areas, but the year-on-year difference between the two was unchanged at 10.6pp).

• Download speeds tended to be lower in rural areas than in urban areas of the UK, as evidenced by the distribution of download speeds and the download times for 2MB, 5MB and 10MB files, which were consistently faster in urban areas (although the differences were relatively small).

• There were only minor variations in file download times between the four nations of the UK, although 5G and 4G downloads in Northern Ireland and Wales tended to take slightly longer than in England and Scotland.

• At a UK level, urban connections had a higher proportion of faster connections than rural areas over 5G and 4G. Northern Ireland had the lowest proportion of download speed measurements of 50 Mbit/s or higher on both 5G and 4G, and in general, had the slowest file download times.

• Northern Ireland also had the lowest proportion of 5G upload speeds at 20 Mbit/s or higher (25%) and the highest proportion of 5G upload tests under 2 Mbit/s (20%). Over 4G, Wales had the lowest share of upload speeds of 20 Mbit/s or higher (12%) and the joint-highest share under 2 Mbit/s with Northern Ireland (both 35%). The proportion of 5G and 4G upload speed tests measured at 20 Mbit/s or more was higher in urban areas of the UK than in rural ones, while rural areas had a higher share than urban areas of speeds measured at under 2 Mbit/s.