The new 4G mobile phone services in the UK are not as super-fast as the industry promised - and could get worse . The mobile phone companies boasted that 4G services would be ‘ five times faster ’ than the existing 3G networks when they launched in the autumn of 2012 . However , a new official study puts the real figure at an average of 2.5 times faster - 14.7 megabits per second compared to 5.9Mbit/s per second on the 3G service that most people use . A study by Ofcom says 4G speeds in the UK are slower than promised . Mobile phone companies boasted 4G would be five times faster than 3G . But the actual figure is actually only 2.5 times faster - 14.7 megabits per second . Shown is an HTC One XL smartphone at a news conference in Zurich launching 4G in 2012 . At the same time , the evidence suggests that 4G services are likely to slow down as more people connect to them . 4G technology is being promoted by the big mobile networks on the basis it offers high speed internet access and smooth video streaming without annoying buffering . More than 10 million people have been won over by the promises and have signed two year contracts costing an average of £20 ( $ 30 ) a month . The 4G speed data comes from the telecoms regulator , Ofcom , which supports the technology and insists the figures show a meaningful and significant benefit over the 3G services . Despite this , the figures make clear the step change has not been as remarkable as the major networks - EE , O2 , Vodafone and Three - promised . Ofcom ’ s research compares the speed and geographic coverage of the networks and puts EE , which is the subject of a £12.5 billion ( $ 18.5 billion ) takeover by BT , on top . EE ’ s 4G network , which covers 81 per cent of homes and businesses , delivered the fastest average download speed of 18.6Mbit/s . This looks good when compared with its 3G service , which was a slow 4Mbit/s . Second fastest was Vodafone with 16.4 for 4G versus 6.6 for 3G . O2 came next at 13.9 versus 6.6 , followed by Three at a relatively slow 8.5 for 4G which was not very impressive against the 5.4 for 3G . Upload speeds are important when sharing content , such as pictures and videos to social media sites like Instagram and Facebook . EE was also fastest on this measure at 17.6Mbit/s , followed by O2 on 13.2 , Vodafone on 13.1 and Three with 9.4 . The Three network was the fastest to load a web page at 0.63 seconds , compared to 0.71 for O2 , 0.76 for Vodafone and 0.77 for EE . There is good evidence to believe the speeds offered by 4G are slowing down . When 4G services launched at the end of 2012 , the average download speed was up at around 19 Mbit/s , however the new research suggests an average of 14.7 and other studies put it as low as 10 . This has happened because more people are using the service , effectively causing jams on the airwaves . The only way this can be countered is if the networks spend millions upgrading masts and installing new ones . Ofcom ’ s research compares the speed and geographic coverage of the networks and puts EE , which is the subject of a £12.5 billion ( $ 18.5 billion ) takeover by BT , on top . EE ’ s 4G network , which covers 81 per cent of homes and businesses , delivered the fastest average download speed of 18.6Mbit/s . The Ofcom figures are based on 120,000 smartphone tests in five sample towns and cities - Edinburgh , Leeds , London , Newcastle and Poole/Bournemouth - between October and December . Its study found that download speeds in Edinburgh fell by 12.5 per cent between the summer and end of last year . The time to call up a web page improved marginally from 0.8 seconds to 0.72 . Ofcom admitted : ‘ As more people are taking 4G services from the mobile operators , this is likely to affect the average speeds being received. ’ The speeds for London were unchanged over the same period , while there was no data for the other areas . Claudio Pollack , Ofcom ’ s Consumer Director , said the study is designed to boost competition by helping consumers decide which mobile networks are offer the best service . He said : ‘ People are increasingly connected , communicating and sharing content on their mobiles when out and about . ‘ 4G is delivering a significantly enhanced mobile experience and , as these services roll out across the UK , our research will support consumers when choosing the right mobile package for their needs . ’
Study by Ofcom says 4G speeds in the UK are slower than promised . Mobile phone companies boasted 4G would be 5x faster than 3G . But actual figure is actually only 2.5x faster - 14.7 megabits per second . Comment: