UK mobile broadband speed averages 1.46Mbps, but ads claim more

Andy Merrett Broadband, Mobile phones
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mobile_broadband_devices.pngSounding rather like the saga surrounding home broadband speeds, a recent survey suggests that mobile broadband users aren’t always getting the maximum speeds advertised.

Broadband Expert’s research, based on testing around 1,200 connections, found the average speed of UK mobile broadband is 1.46Mbps. This is around half the speed of the average home broadband speed of 2.95Mbps.

Vodafone’s offering fared the best with a top recorded speed of 2.3Mbps, although they have advertised speeds of up to 7.2Mbps — about the fastest speed HSDPA currently operates at. To be fair, though, some of those surveyed were on lower speed contracts.

T-Mobile fared less well, with a top speed of just 1.1Mbps, while 3 came in at 1Mbps. As O2 has only just launched its mobile broadband offering, no data was available on the service.

The average speed of upload (data going from phone to network) was 0.38Mbps. It’s an important figure to measure if the user wants to use VoIP services, or is planning to upload multimedia data to a blog or other online service from their mobile.

It’s not all bad news, though. Broadband Expert Technical Director William Harvey explained, “With mobile broadband, speed shouldn’t necessarily be the main focus when choosing a product. Mobile broadband use tends to be business focused with email and web browsing the key activities. Speeds of 1-2Mbps are generally adequate for this type of activity.”

He warned against mobile operators falling into the same trap as companies offering home broadband, advertising maximum connection speeds that can rarely if ever be achieved.

(Via Broadband Expert blog)

Related posts: O2 mobile broadband | Vodafone new mobile broadband pricing

Andy Merrett
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One thought on “UK mobile broadband speed averages 1.46Mbps, but ads claim more”

  • I had a Vodaphone mobile dongle. In my experience it was the worst product and service i have ever had! I was locked into an 18month contract at £25 a month.and was told the download speed would be 2mb. Living in central london at the time I never got close to 2mb. In my opinion until this technology evolves to the level that the service advertised is the service received you are better sitting in a cafe, ordering a coffee and taking advantage off free wi-fi!

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