5G networks are being readily rolled out across Europe, and the recent merger for Vodafone and Three will likely accelerate deployment of next-gen mobile in the UK. However, a study from MedUX claims UK 5G is failing to deliver on promises, and faces specific challenges in delivering a consistently high quality of experience.
The mobile network testing firm’s European crowdsourcing report set out to offer critical insights into 5G quality and experience across the continent. The research captured insights from over 50 million smartphone users to provide a real-time view of the actual 5G experience, highlighting the gap between aspirations and reality.
With its quality of experience (QoE) crowdsourced data set, the report, said MedUX, further reaffirms findings from its 2024 and subsequent 2025 European rankings where London’s 5G QoE finished last compared with other major European cities.
MedUX believes the UK’s digital strategy sets out no less than a “bold vision” for near-ubiquitous gigabit coverage by 2030. However, it added that the report findings reveal a significant gap between these aspirations and the current reality of user experience.
While 5G deployment is widespread, true high-quality 5G is not universal. On average, European users, including those in the UK, remain connected to 5G approximately 48% of the time, revealing a significant disparity between theoretical population coverage and the daily reality for millions of Brits.
Only a few countries, notably the Netherlands, along with Switzerland and Denmark, frequently appear at the top for high-quality user experiences. The report notes that the Netherlands is seeing 5G emerge as a predominant access technology, with above 73% of 5G technology usage, a trend MedUX notes is being driven by advanced network deployments and accelerated 5G adoption.
By stark contrast, the report finds that the UK has below-average 5G availability (34%) in general terms, but when it comes to the upper mid-band (3.4-3.7 GHz band) and standalone 5G deployments, this rate is even less, at 23% and 0.7%, respectively. The study also suggests the UK faces specific challenges in delivering a consistently high quality of experience, and that in areas like streaming, social media and gaming, it has room for improvement to match the continent’s leaders.
Furthermore, not only was the UK among the worst performers in download speed, upload speed, latency and packet loss, it was also seen to struggle with higher-than-average streaming stalling ratios (.45 ratio) compared with some other European countries, indicating potential instability, said MedUX.
The only other country to experience a higher rate of stalling was Romania (.66 ratio). The UK also had the highest average jitter (33.48ms) in all of Europe, which can significantly disrupt real-time video throughput.
“This massive, real-time measurement of 5G quality of experience is a reality,” said MedUX CEO Luis Molina. “We are committed to helping countries like the UK enhance their 5G experience for consumers by providing crucial insights to transform basic connectivity into an impactful tool for long-term societal development.”
