File downloads take longer on O2 than other networks, Ofcom finds

File downloads take longer on O2 over 4G and 5G than on the other mobile networks, according to new Ofcom research published today.

Ofcom’s latest ‘Mobile Matters’ research report puts people’s experiences of using mobile networks across the UK under the microscope, based on crowdsourced data collected between October 2023 and March 2024.

Its analysis shows that 78% of cellular network use is over 4G, with 20% on 5G, 2% on 3G and just 0.1% of on 2G. In urban areas of the UK, 21% of network connections are on 5G compared to 10% in rural areas.

On average, downloading a 2MB file – for example, downloading a photo or short low-resolution video clip in a messaging app – takes 0.3 seconds on 5G, compared to 0.8 seconds on 4G and 4.3 seconds on 3G.

Even half a second can mean the difference between feeling as though content is being accessed ’instantaneously’ or with a short delay. So, when it comes to fast 5G downloads, it’s clear that file size doesn’t matter.

Comparing mobile network operators

O2 customers have the longest average time to download a 2MB file over 5G (0.4 seconds) and 4G (1 second). Three customers have the shortest average 2MB download time over 5G (0.2 seconds), while EE customers have the shortest average 2MB download time over 4G (0.6 seconds).

Three and O2 have the highest proportion of customers using 5G (21%), while Vodafone has the lowest (15%). However, Vodafone has the highest average share of connections on 4G (83%), while O2 has the lowest (74%). O2 customers had the highest proportion of cellular connection on 3G (5%) while the share of 2G connections was low for all mobile network operators.

Three has the fastest average response time (latency) over 5G (16.3ms) while EE has the fastest average 4G response time (18.3ms). O2 customers have the slowest average response time on 5G (21.4ms) and Vodafone has the slowest response time on 4G (23.7ms).