As you probably know, O2 and Vodafone have recently rolled out new 4G services to compete with EE’s existing 4G network. Our initial tests of O2 and Vodafone found similarly strong mobile internet speeds from both operators. And while the speeds of O2 and Vodafone trailed those of EE, these speeds were even faster than what we found when we first measured EE shortly after its initial 4G deployment.
Over the five days directly following the 4G launches of O2 and Vodafone, we conducted more than 11,000 tests within London to see how the networks compared. Since you use your phones at different times and in different locations, we tested across all hours of the day and night, at randomly selected locations indoors, outdoors, and while driving between locations.
As you can see in the charts below, the introduction of 4G from O2 and Vodafone gave EE strong competition. The first chart shows the speeds we found across all network technologies—not only on 4G—which is a more accurate indication of the speeds you’ll experience, since you probably won’t find a 4G connection 100% of the time. We did, however, connect to each operator’s 4G network at least 63% of the time during testing (keep reading for specifics); the second chart shows the 4G-only speeds of each network.
A few things caught our eye: 1) O2’s and Vodafone’s speeds were significantly faster than the non-4G speeds we’ve found from each network prior to launching 4G, 2) the similarity of results between O2 and Vodafone was striking, and 3) EE, with its double-speed offering, still proved faster, but our initial findings indicate that O2 and Vodafone are already offering solid 4G service in the Capital for those who sign up.
Since you likely won’t access 4G 100% of the time, looking at average speeds across all network technologies provides a more accurate reflection of your real-world experience. But we did measure each network’s maximum speeds while purely on 4G. While EE easily had the fastest maximum upload speed, the maximum speeds we found from O2 and Vodafone were very impressive. EE hit a maximum download speed of 79.1 Mbps, O2 clocked in at 65.8 Mbps, and Vodafone hit a maximum download speed of 57.7 Mbps. In terms of maximum upload speed, EE had the fastest speed at 49.1 Mbps, while O2’s maximum upload speed was 23.7 Mbps, and Vodafone’s maximum upload speed was 23.6 Mbps.
What do speeds mean for you? Check the table below for a few examples of how speeds can impact the way you use your phone.
| Activity | 0 – 1.5 Mbps | 3 – 6 Mbps | 6 – 10 Mbps | 10 – 20 Mbps |
| Post a picture to Facebook | < 45 seconds | < 15 seconds | < 1 second | < 1 second |
| Streaming tunes | < 15 second buffer. Several re-buffers. | < 5 second buffer. No re-buffering. | < 1 second buffer. No re-buffering. | < 1 second buffer. No re-buffering. |
| Streaming HD video | Often impossible. | < 2 minute buffer. Several re-buffers/dropped frames. | < 1 minute buffer. Some re-buffering/dropped frames. | < 30 second buffer. No re-buffering. |
We also measured the availability of Vodafone’s and O2’s 4G services; our results showed that 4G service was already broadly available: we found 4G available in 69.4% of Vodafone tests and 63.9% of O2 tests (for comparison, when we last measured EE’s network in April, we found 4G over 80% of the time). Compared with other 4G launches we’ve seen in both the UK and other countries, these are very strong results, especially considering that we began testing in London the day after O2 and Vodafone launched 4G; we typically find 4G availability at launch between 40 – 60% of the time.
In short: we’re extremely impressed with the 4G availability and speeds we found on both O2 and Vodafone, especially compared to other 4G launches we’ve tested in both the US and UK.
If you’re using the 4G services of EE, O2, or Vodafone, let us what you think.
