Data from Ookla, a specialist in connectivity intelligence, reveals Londoners spend more time in mobile signal not-spots and experience slower 5G speeds than residents of other UK cities, resulting in poorer performance in everyday tasks like web browsing.

In the first article in a new series exploring the competitiveness of mobile networks in European towns and cities, Luke Kehoe, Industry Analyst at Ookla, analysed how London’s 5G performance compares to other UK cities, including Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.

Key takeaways include:

• London lags behind the UK’s largest cities across key 5G performance indicators, and the gap to top-performing Glasgow is widening. In Q1 2025, London trailed other UK cities in 5G network consistency, as well as median download and upload speeds, and the gap to top-performing Glasgow is widening. With median 5G download speeds of approximately 115 Mbps (compared to Glasgow’s 184.99 Mbps), London is feeling the effects of network sunsetting more than others.
• Mobile users in London spend more time in signal not-spots with no service than residents of other UK cities, reflecting lingering coverage gaps indoors and across key transport routes. The proportion of Londoners spending the majority of their time in locations with no service (0.7 per cent) has improved significantly from 3.7 per cent in Q1 2023, despite still being higher than in other cities. This progress reflects operator investments in network densification through small cells and the ongoing rollout of mobile coverage across the London Underground, which have together enhanced overall network availability in the capital.

• The gap in 5G availability between the UK’s major cities and the national average has significantly narrowed over the past year. Q1 2024 saw Leeds leading in 5G availability, 21 per cent above the national average, but by Q1 2025, London had taken the lead in 5G availability among major UK cities (though speed remains an issue), with the gap narrowing to 13 per cent. This reflects progress in 5G network expansion in smaller UK towns and rural areas in recent months.

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Categories: 5G, Articles, Mobile, Research

Tags: 5G, London, Ookla