EE is the overall top-performing network in the UK, but Three is slowly catching up, according to a new report.
The 2014 RootMetrics Midyear Mobile Network Performance Report found that EE ranked highest across nearly all aspects of performance testing, including network reliability, network speed, and call, text and internet performance.
However, the data also reveals a closing gap between EE and rival Three, which came in second overall with a total score of 84.3 out of 100, compared to EE’s 88.1.
O2 came third overall, with a score of 78.6, ahead of Vodafone which came last with a score of 77.8.
Mobile internet performance is now a “two-horse race”, according to the report, with EE ranking first with a score of 85.5 and Three closely following at 82.7.
In terms of Nation-by-Nation performance, while EE scored highest overall in England (88.9) and Wales (87.6), Three ranked higher in Scotland (88.3) and came join-first with its rival in Northern Ireland (84.2)
Three was also the top scorer for network reliability in Northern Ireland, as well as in Scotland, where it also came first for internet performance.
However, EE came out on top across all 16 metro areas used during testing, including London, Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Commenting on the results, EE CEO Olaf Swantee said: “The standards being set in the UK are improving all the time thanks to ongoing investment, and we’re committed to making sure that our customers here are using a network that competes with any country in the world.
“This year, we’re investing in reducing our dropped call rate to less than 0.5 percent and rolling out LTE-Advanced, making the call and data experience better than ever.”
RootMetrics claimed it used over 920,00 test samples for its research and a variety of different locations.
CEO and President Bill Moore said: “We firmly believe consumers deserve clear, unbiased, and accurate information in order to make the most informed decisions to improve their everyday mobile experience.”
Last week, a report into mobile call quality by UK regulator Ofcom revealed that almost a quarter of UK customers are unhappy with the service they are receiving.