All of the UK’s biggest mobile networks, including Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 have been put through their paces in streaming speed tests and here’s who came out on top.
The days of simply making a few calls on our mobile phones are long gone. These devices, which squeeze in our pockets, are now as powerful as a PC and also offer a full entertainment experience as well. In fact, watching movies and streaming boxsets is a big feature of these call makers, especially with many, such as Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold7, featuring massive displays.
Of course, to stream live content on the move, you’re going to need a fast mobile network, and it seems one provider is leading the way.
Vodafone has just been crowned the winner in the latest awards from the speed-testing team at Ookla. Despite the score being very close, Vodafone beat off rivals such as EE, Three and O2 to claim the overall top spot.
The study used millions of download tests to find the winner. Vodafone came first in a number of categories including overall Video Streaming Score, Acceptable Video Start Time and streaming video in full HD resolution.
It was only just pipped by Three and O2 in the Uninterrupted Playback tests.
Announcing the winner, Ookla said: “Vodafone is the Best 5G Video Experience in the United Kingdom, Q1–Q2 2025.
“The Ookla Speedtest Award for Mobile Video Experience is based on Video Streaming Score, which captures a range of key performance indicators during the playback of a high-resolution video clip.”
HERE ARE THE FULL RESULTS
Video Streaming Score Vodafone • 85.29 Three 84.33 EE • 82.64 O2 • 81.67
Uninterrupted Playback Vodafone • 98.05 Three • 98.37 EE • 98.19 O2 • 98.15
Acceptable Video Start Time Vodafone • 65.01 Three • 62.61 EE • 60.96 O2 • 55.43
Full HD Resolution Vodafone • 92.32 Three • 91.99 O2 • 91.42 EE • 88.75
With more of us than ever now streaming movies, watching live sports and bingeing on boxsets, this is an important test as none of us wants to be beaten by buffering.
If your signal is struggling it could be a good time to consider switching over to 5G instead of using older 4G technology.
Making that change can help speed things up with 5G, not only faster but also able to cope with more devices connected at the same time. That means it’s far less likely to be affected at people-packed stadiums and busy train stations.
Almost all new phones are 5G ready and, if you want the best speeds, it’s a good idea to check if you’re SIM has 5G switched on.