O2 and Vodafone fastest in independent mobile broadband speed tests

O2 and Vodafone are both looking very pleased with themselves this week after an independent testing of mobile broadband speeds showed the two networks as being the fastest in the UK.

The tests, commissioned by O2 but carried out by an independent contractor, measured speeds on each of the UK's five mobile broadband networks to see which provided the speediest service. Tests were carried out at various times during the day, seven days a week, at 150 locations over a 60 day period - with the intention of copying general usage patterns in order to provide a genuine picture of what speeds users are really getting.

The results showed that for web browsing Vodafone leads the pack, delivering the best speeds in five of the cities tested, while O2 was fastest for music downloads in 12 cities. Vodafone took second place on music downloads, while Orange, O2 and T-Mobile tied for second place on the browsing test.

While independent speed tests are a boon for consumers who want the bottom line on which network's mobile broadband offering is fastest, the results of this test also showed that in most cases, the differences in speeds are negligible. And since no location specific data has been released, the study cannot be used to determine who is fastest in your particular area, leaving the critical  'which network should I choose?' question unanswered.