EE still UK’s best mobile network after twelve years

EE has once again been crowned the UK’s best overall mobile network for performance, marking a twelve-year run at the top for the BT-owned operator.

The newest ‘State of the Mobile Union’ report from RootMetrics, which covers the first half of 2025, shows EE continues to set the pace for mobile connectivity across UK nations.

The findings are based on over 625,000 real-world tests conducted across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. In this analysis, EE didn’t just win; it swept the board, winning or sharing every single UK-wide RootScore Award.

EE retains best overall UK mobile network title after a dozen years

When it comes to the all-important measure of speed, EE’s advantage is stark. The operator delivered a UK-wide aggregate median download speed of a blistering 110.8 Mbps. To put that in perspective, it’s more than double the speed of its closest rival, Vodafone, which managed 48.4 Mbps.

Beyond sheer speed, EE also secured the ‘Best 5G Experience’ award, noting its strong 5G availability and performance. This dominance was also clear at a local level, where EE claimed the Overall RootScore Award in all 16 major cities tested.

Claire Gillies, Chief Executive Officer at EE, said: “While others are busy making promises, we are focused on delivering the best network to connect the lives of millions of people across the UK every single day.

“Everyone has their own unique connectivity needs and what this research shows is that whether you are streaming in Southampton, gaming in Glasgow, or video calling your friends in Cardiff, the nation gets a better network experience on EE.”

Intense battle for the remaining podium spots

While EE occupies a class of its own as the best network overall, the report reveals a competitive battleground among the other major UK mobile operators, each with its own story of progress and challenges.

For Vodafone, the first half of 2025 presented a mixed picture. The operator saw its total number of awards decrease at both the national and city levels. However, it showed regional strength, sharing the top Overall RootScore Award with EE in Northern Ireland. Vodafone’s speeds in major cities remained reliably consistent, delivering median download speeds over 50 Mbps in 12 of the 16 markets tested.

Three’s story is one of steady consistency. The operator secured 30 RootScore Awards in major cities, the second-highest total of any network, even with a slight dip from 33 in the previous report. It successfully retained a share of the UK-wide Text RootScore Award and maintained its tally of four awards at the nation level. Speed results in urban areas were also stable, with Three providing median download speeds above 50 Mbps in 14 cities, an increase from 13 last time.

However, perhaps the most impressive tale of progress belongs to Virgin Media O2. The operator made substantial gains in network speed within major cities, doubling the number of locations with median download speeds over 50 Mbps from five to ten. It also successfully reduced the number of cities with speeds below 40 Mbps from seven down to just three. This positive momentum was reflected in its UK-wide median download speed, which climbed to 36.2 Mbps from 29.0 Mbps in late 2024.

While it remains solidly in fourth place overall, the improvements since O2 was acquired by Virgin Media appear to show the mobile network has turned a corner. That said, the merger between Vodafone and Three is set to further shake-up the UK market and the combined entity will likely extend its lead over Virgin Media O2 and potentially even take EE’s crown.

After twelve years, the determined improvements from EE’s competitors ensure that the race for the best UK mobile network is far from over, especially as the 5G rollout continues at pace.

(Photo by Carlos N. Cuatzo Meza)

See also: Deutsche Telekom launches affordable AI phone with Perplexity

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Tags: 5G, connectivity, europe, mobile, networks, report, research, rootmetrics, study, telecoms, uk