If you’ve taken on a new smartphone contract in the last six months or so, you’ve probably asked yourself: “Is 4G worth it?”
Well if the findings of a recent Ofcom study are anything to go by, it seems 4G is worth it, as it consistently outperforms 3G in terms of mobile broadband performance.
Faster, higher, stronger
Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, carried out a test of 120,000 test samples on smartphones on 3G and 4G networks in five cities covering the length of the UK: Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, London and Poole/Bournemouth.
The tests examined download, web browsing and upload speeds, as well as the responsiveness of the network, and found web browsing was significantly faster on 4G, which took an average of 0.72 seconds to load a standard web page, compared with 1.04 seconds on 3G.
4G networks are consistently outperforming 3G in terms of mobile broadband performance, a study has found.
As far as download speeds are concerned – that is, how quickly data can be transferred from the internet, when watching videos, for instance – 4G networks averaged 14.7Mbit/s compared with 5.9Mbit/s on 3G.
Upload speeds – these determine the time it takes to upload pictures and videos, to social networks, for instance – were more than eight times faster on 4G than 3G (13.6Mbit/s compared with 1.6Mbit/s)
Which network is fastest?
Test samples were taken across the four major networks – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – and 97% came back with 4G download speeds faster than 2Mbit/s, which Ofcom said was “typically sufficient” for high capacity video streaming.
The tests were carried out between October and December last year and found EE delivered the fastest average download speed at 18.6Mbit/s, and fastest average upload speeds of 17.6Mbit/s.
Three had the fastest average time for web browsing over 4G, taking an avarage of 0.63 seconds to load a web page.
If you’ve don’t live in an area that supports 4G though, Vodafone came out best in terms of 3G networks.
Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s Consumer and Content Group Director, said people are “increasingly connected,” communicating and sharing content on their mobiles when out and about.
“4G is delivering a significantly enhanced mobile experience and, as these services roll out across the UK, our research will support consumers when choosing the right mobile package for their needs.”
Have you got a 4G enabled device? Let us know what you think…
