O2 Delivers Fastest Data Speeds in London

SIRODA, the network specialist, announced today the results of a survey on UK's mobile networks, through which the data speeds offered by the leading five UK wireless carriers had been compared. According to the survey, the fastest average web page access experience offered during January 2010 comes from O2 in London, at 1.7 seconds, which is 30-percent faster than the slowest carrier.

The tests had been conducted during a period of 60 days in 150 locations in the UK, and measured the speed of mobile data connections during peak periods throughout the day. While in London the fastest speeds were measured on O2's network, outside the city the speeds are equal between the five carriers, it seems. The British Approvals Board for Telecommunications (BABT) verified both the survey methodology and the results of the tests.

“Networks have seen an enormous growth in data traffic in recent months and consumer interest in network quality has grown accordingly. This nationwide survey reflects actual customer experience in the places where data is in most demand. Regularly testing in this way helps identify areas for investment,” Simon Page from SIRODA said.

O2 was also said to be the fastest network operator when it came to the download of a music track. The carrier achieved the fastest music download rate in 12 out of 20 key cities in the country, and was placed second in four others. The data performance was measured through testing the access times and the speed of downloading a specific music file. The tests were conducted in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sheffield and other cities in the UK.

Derek McManus, chief technology officer, O2 commented, “We’re very pleased with these conclusive findings, which have been independently verified. Our London customers are now seeing the benefits of the investment we made before Christmas, where we spent £30m delivering 40 new sites. Outside London, where network quality is shown to be strong, we continue to scale our investment and have committed to deliver a further 1500 new sites by the end of this year, building ahead of the demand for data services.”