The quality of 5G connectivity across various cities in Europe has been unveiled through recent findings by MedUX, a fixed and mobile network benchmarking firm. Among ten cities surveyed, including Barcelona, Paris, and Lisbon, London ranked last for 5G quality of experience, with Berlin claiming the top position. The assessment utilized robots to thoroughly evaluate fixed and mobile wireless internet broadband and address network issues.
Contributions from telecom providers, regulators, and enterprises were incorporated into the report, aiding in benchmarking and monitoring networks. Berlin emerged as the city offering the ‘best’ 5G connectivity, boasting a remarkable 89.6% coverage. It leads in 5G streaming, with an average latency of less than 40 milliseconds. Rafael Galarreta, MedUX’s chief marketing officer, highlighted Berlin’s proficiency in video streaming and over-the-top (OTT) media services, attributing its success to meticulous implementation practices.
Berlin, Barcelona, and Paris surpassed the 5G quality benchmark in the report, while Lisbon, Milan, and Porto followed closely behind. Conversely, London ranked near the bottom for European 5G networks, with only 77.5% of its population equipped with 5G-enabled devices, below the urban average. London also exhibited poor downlink speeds, providing users with an average download speed of 143 megabits per second (Mbps), significantly lower than Lisbon’s 528 Mbps, Porto’s 446 Mbps, and Barcelona’s 326 Mbps.
In addition to London, Munich, Germany, experienced subpar 5G downlink speeds, averaging 259 Mbps. Galarreta emphasized the UK’s challenges, attributing them to issues of speed, accessibility, and network responsiveness. He highlighted the UK’s lag in these dimensions compared to other European cities, reflecting broader concerns within the UK’s mobile network infrastructure.
