A lot has changed in the UK’s mobile market over the past decade, but in the RootMetrics UK mobile performance report, much has remained the same, with the first half of 2025 showing that operator EE has ranked highest overall in the national results for the 12th consecutive year.
The RootMetrics testing methodology is said to be guided by two fundamental standards: testing mobile operator performance from a consumer’s point of view; and providing an objective, accurate, unbiased assessment of performance in helpful and easy-to-understand terms.
For its test for the first half of 2025, RootMetrics conducted more than 625,000 drive and walk tests to measure real-world performance, evaluating reliability, speed, 5G availability, calls, data and texts for the networks of EE, Vodafone, Three and Virgin Media O2. This included tests in the UK’s largest 16 cities and rural communities in each of the four nations, as well as along more than 22,000 miles of roads and almost 800 indoor locations.
When analysing all UK mobile networks for the quality of their 5G connectivity, RootMetrics testing focused on two main areas: network availability and quality of performance. The results proved EE delivers the best 5G experience in the UK, with the highest average 5G download speeds (241.2 Mbps).
It also had the UK’s fastest average 5G download speeds – more than double the next best, Vodafone (110.8 Mbps vs next best at 48.4 Mbps). In Sheffield, the fastest network recorded median download speeds of 213.9 Mbps – 147.9 Mbps faster than the nearest competitor, Vodafone, representing the largest city-level lead in the UK. London saw one of the most notable year-on-year turnarounds, with speeds up 50.9 Mbps for EE while the second-fastest declined.
The performance gains said the analyst had been made possible thanks to the widespread availability of EE’s 5G network, which data from UK regulator Ofcom data showed is greater than any other provider. The operator also won or shared every UK-wide RootScore Award, earning the most awards in both nation and metro-area testing. EE also earned the Overall RootScore Award in each of the four nations of the UK (with one tie), and in all 16 metropolitan markets tested.
For its part, Three earned 30 awards in major cities and maintained its total of four RootScore Awards at the nation level. Three of those came for Text Performance – in England, Northern Ireland and Wales – while the fourth was for Call Performance in Northern Ireland. Three’s median download speeds in major cities remained generally similar with those in second half of 2024, with speeds above 50 Mbps in 14 markets in 1H 2025 compared with 13 last time.
RootMetrics regarded Virgin Media O2 as making further progress in the first half of 2025, boosting its speeds in major cities and across the nations, while improving its 5G availability in most of the cities tested. The operator recorded median download speeds above 50 Mbps in twice as many cities as in the previous six months and showed the largest single-city 5G availability gain with a 21.9% jump in Southampton.
Vodafone, with whom Three has merged, shared the Overall RootScore Award with EE in Northern Ireland, which recognises the top-performing network(s) in that nation. The operator earned a total of five awards in Northern Ireland during H1 2025, including recognition for network reliability.
Vodafone’s speeds in major cities remained relatively similar to its results in the latter six months of 2024, with most of its median download speeds above 50 Mbps – hitting that mark in 12 out of 16 markets. However, the operator saw a decline in award totals this time around, with its metro tally dropping from 45 in H2 2024 to 21, and its nation-level awards falling from 13 to five.
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