UK 5G speeds among slowest in Europe
A new report from Opensignal reveals the UK is at the bottom of the table for 5G speeds and availability, ranking 22nd out of 25 European countries for both metrics.
In addition, average download speeds across 3G, 4G and 5G are also among the slowest in Europe, with only a modest increase over the previous year.
The study compared results from European countries over a 3 month period, spanning October to December 2023.
Clocking in at 118.1 Mbps, the UK ranked 22nd out of 25 for 5G speeds. Although this seems like a respectable amount on the surface, it pales in comparison to Denmark and Bulgaria, who achieved almost triple speeds with 301.8 Mbps and 288.9 Mbps, respectively. In fact, 9 European countries posted speeds above 200 Mbps, including France with 225.1 Mbps. Ireland, our closest neighbour, were over 39% faster, with 164.6 Mbps.
| Country | Speed (Mbps) | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 301.8 | 14.2% |
| Bulgaria | 288.9 | 24% |
| Croatia | 274.3 | 15.7% |
| Sweden | 262.1 | 8.1% |
| Norway | 253.4 | 12.5% |
| Finland | 242.2 | 22.8% |
| Portgual | 234.9 | 9.3% |
| France | 225.1 | 16% |
| Slovenia | 217.4 | 9.8% |
| Switzlerland | 192.8 | 12.8% |
| Latvia | 171.5 | 10.2% |
| Spain | 170.1 | 14.2% |
| Austria | 166.1 | 13.3% |
| Ireland | 164.6 | 10.3% |
| Belgium | 157.5 | 4.8% |
| Germany | 152.6 | 10.7% |
| Slovakia | 143.6 | 10.8% |
| Greece | 142.8 | 14.4% |
| Netherlands | 141.9 | 11.7% |
| Romania | 133.1 | 7.4% |
| Italy | 132.5 | 15.5% |
| UK | 118.1 | 8.4% |
| Hungary | 111.3 | 11.5% |
| Czech Republic | 102.3 | 14.1% |
| Poland | 75.1 | 13.6% |
5G availability also paints a grim picture, with the UK ranking in 22nd place again, with a mere 8.4% geographic availability. Bulgaria and Finland have the highest availability, with 24% and 22.8%, respectively.
Unfortunately, average download speeds across 3G, 4G and 5G are just as bad. The UK ranked 29th out of 34 European countries, with average download speeds of 33 Mbps. Although this is a 10.74% gain over the previous year, it’s still one of the smallest increases, with the UK ranking 26th in this regard. Norway and Denmark posted the fastest average download speeds, with 102.3 Mbps and 98.8 Mbps, respectively. The biggest increase came from Latvia, who achieved a 44.88% gain, from 30.3 Mbps to 43.9 Mbps.
| Country | 2023 (Mbps) | 2022 (Mbps) | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 102.3 | 85.8 | 19.23% |
| Denmark | 98.8 | 73.4 | 34.6% |
| Netherlands | 81.7 | 79.7 | 2.51% |
| Finland | 71.6 | 53.9 | 32.84% |
| Bulgaria | 71.1 | 64.5 | 10.23% |
| Croatia | 70.8 | 56.2 | 25.98% |
| Sweden | 66.2 | 56.8 | 16.55% |
| Switzerland | 60.3 | 59.5 | 1.34% |
| North Macedonia | 58.2 | 42.3 | 37.59% |
| France | 53.5 | 43.9 | 21.87% |
| Lithuania | 52.6 | 46 | 14.35% |
| Estonia | 52.2 | 42.4 | 23.11% |
| Germany | 51.1 | 46.1 | 10.85% |
| Austria | 49.9 | 42.5 | 17.41% |
| Portugal | 47.5 | 42.6 | 11.5% |
| Serbia | 45.5 | 38 | 19.74% |
| Slovakia | 45.2 | 39.7 | 13.85% |
| Slovenia | 45.1 | 38.6 | 16.84% |
| Latvia | 43.9 | 30.3 | 44.88% |
| Belgium | 43.8 | 38.8 | 12.89% |
| Albania | 41.8 | 33 | 26.67% |
| Greece | 41.3 | 34.1 | 21.11% |
| Montenegro | 40.3 | 33.5 | 20.3% |
| Czech Republic | 39.5 | 35.7 | 10.64% |
| Hungary | 35.7 | 32.4 | 10.19% |
| Spain | 34.8 | 30.4 | 14.47% |
| Ireland | 33.5 | 26.5 | 26.42% |
| Romania | 33.1 | 28 | 18.21% |
| UK | 33 | 29.8 | 10.74% |
| Poland | 32.8 | 29.4 | 11.56% |
| Italy | 32.4 | 30.5 | 6.23% |
| Moldova | 28.9 | 26.8 | 7.84% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 22 | 19 | 15.79% |
| Kosovo | 18.6 | 18.4 | 1.09% |
In mid-2020, the UK government required all UK networks to remove Huawei 5G infrastructure by 2027. Oliver Dowden, the digital secretary at the time, admitted the decision will set back 5G in the UK by 2 to 3 years, and will cost an extra £2bn.