The latest Ookla report has revealed 5G performances – in terms of 5G download speed and other metrics — in key cities in the United Kingdom.
In Q1 2025, London lagged behind other major UK cities in key 5G performance metrics, including network consistency and 5G download and upload speeds. London and Belfast recorded the lowest median 5G download speeds at around 115 Mbps, far behind Glasgow’s 185 Mbps. This underperformance makes the UK stand out in Western Europe, where it is uncommon for the capital city to trail so significantly behind others.
In Q1 2025, London mobile users still spent more time in areas with no signal than users in other UK cities, though the situation has improved — from 3.7 percent in Q1 2023 to 0.7 percent. This progress is due to increased network investment and expanded coverage in areas like the London Underground. However, time spent on 2G networks has risen in cities like Birmingham and Manchester, largely due to the ongoing phase-out of 3G, leading to more frequent fallback to 2G.
Between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, the gap in 5G availability between the UK’s major cities and the national average narrowed significantly. London led in 5G availability by Q1 2025, though the gap above the national average dropped from 21 to 13 percentage points, reflecting rapid 5G expansion in smaller towns and rural areas. Meanwhile, median 5G download speeds declined by over 7 percent in major cities, likely due to increased network load as more users transitioned from older technologies, contributing to broader improvements in overall mobile network performance.
Deploying 5G networks using mid-band spectrum, particularly the 3.5 GHz band, has posed major challenges for UK operators, especially in dense urban areas like London. These challenges stem from the limited signal range of higher-frequency bands, requiring extensive network densification through small cell deployment. Compounding this, modern building materials and designs — such as low-E glass and reinforced concrete — have turned new and retrofitted structures into mobile signal blockers, increasing the number of indoor not-spots in cities.
Legal and regulatory hurdles have further slowed 5G rollout. Changes to the UK’s Electronics Communications Code (ECC) in 2017 aimed to reduce land access costs but instead led to widespread legal disputes and reduced rooftop site availability — particularly problematic in London, where rooftop space is crucial due to limited ground-level options. The reforms cut potential rental income for landlords, discouraging participation and resulting in thousands of site delays and disputes.
Although later legislative updates in 2022 sought to simplify processes and reduce conflict, they retained the lower rental model, continuing to undermine incentives for rooftop leasing. Additionally, the UK’s stricter controls on non-European telecom equipment have diverted resources toward network rebuilds rather than expansion, further hampering 5G infrastructure growth.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
