Mobile broadband speeds slower than expected

The average speed of UK mobile broadband is far slower than initially thought, according to new research carried out by a broadband comparison site.

Broadband Expert found that the actual average speed stood at 1.46Mbs as opposed to the 2.95Mbs revealed by the same company in earlier surveys.

The survey, carried out between February and March this year, tested 1,213 mobile broadband connections with top download speeds ranging between 2.3Mbps for Vodaphone to 1.1Mbps for T-Mobile and 1Mbps for 3. Although Vodaphone was seen to have the fasted download speed, it has advertised speeds as fast as 7.2Mbps.

The average upload speed, which describes the speed that data can be transmitted back to the internet and is important for voice over IP (VolP) calls, was 0.38Mbps.

Download speed varied between areas, with greater speeds likely to be achieved in urban areas that have better coverage.

Technical director of Broadband Expert, William Harvey, said that mobile broadband providers should be weary of advertising speeds that are "largely unachievable".

"With mobile broadband, speed shouldn't necessarily be the main focus when choosing a product. The most important factors to consider are network coverage linked to reliable service provision," Harvey said.

"It is not surprising that mobile broadband is behind fixed line broadband as it's a comparatively new technology," he added. "But, mobile broadband providers must not follow the lead of home broadband services and advertise speeds that are largely unachievable."