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Average mobile broadband download speed is revealed

Recent research has shown that mobile broadband users in the UK are achieving average mobile broadband download speeds of 1.46Mbs, clearly indicating that mobile broadband customers are not receiving the download speeds claimed by advertisers.

An earlier mobile broadband survey undertaken by the same company showed an average mobile broadband download of 2.95Mbps; so these new results, in comparison, reveal a decrease of approximately 50% in current mobile broadband speeds.

The survey tested 1,213 mobile broadband connections and was undertaken between the months of February and March of this year. The mobile broadband results ranged from a maximum mobile broadband download speed of 2.3Mbps – which was achieved by Vodafone – through to a connection speed of 1.1Mbps for mobile broadband providers T-Mobile and 3.

Even though Vodafone registered the fastest mobile broadband download speeds, the results do not compare with the providers claims of mobile broadband speeds of up to 7.2Mbps.

The highest mobile broadband speeds were recorded in areas with the most coverage, typically urban parts of the country, but they still clearly varied between networks.

As far as mobile broadband upload speeds were concerned, the average speed for all of the mobile broadband providers was revealed as 0.38Mbps. This was defined as the speed that mobile broadband data can be transmitted back to the internet and is important for VoIP (internet phone calls) services such as Skype.

In the light of these mobile broadband results it is important to remember that, at the moment, mobile broadband is used most commonly for email and web browsing – for which speeds of 1–2Mbps are perfectly adequate. But those consumers considering buying mobile broadband should not be put off by these results. Mobile broadband technology is developing all the time and the uptake of the service is phenomenal by industry standards. Mobile broadband providers are concentrating their research and investment very heavily into increasing mobile broadband capacity and coverage, and even the current services still provide consumers with the perfect opportunity to access the internet on the move - liberating them from the restrictions of fixed broadband.


22/05/2008
Author: CompareBroadbandUK staff writer

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