Revealed: The best and worst 4G operators in London
Mobile signal. It's a constant source of frustration and debate among friends and colleagues – and conversations often centre on which operator is worst.
And let's be honest, when that emblem in the top corner of our phone turns from 4G to "E" or "GPRS", our hearts sigh. "How can it be there is no coverage when I'm in the middle of the nation's capital," is an oft-heard cry.
But today, Ofcom, the UK's telecoms regulator, gave its definitive opinion on how the nation's four main operators – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – stack up in London when it comes to 4G mobile broadband and voice services.
Read more: Ofcom rules BT/EE out of mobile broadband airwaves auction
Making the grade
Ofcom kicked off by looking at the proportion of the time operators could achieve a minimum download speed of 2Mbit/s.
The regulator picked this minimum because "such speeds are likely to be sufficient to support high-capacity video services".
(Source: Ofcom)
Read more: Can Ofcom force through BT Openreach split?
I feel the need… the need for speed
Also under review was which network had the fastest average download speed. The Ofcom results were pretty decisive, with EE nearly four times the average download speed of fourth place O2
(Source: Ofcom)
Just load, dammit
EE delivered once again as the firm came out on top for successful loading of some of Britain's best-loved web pages.
(Source: Ofcom)
Read more: Vodafone fined £4.6m for taking customers' money and service failings
For some reason Ofcom used the BBC home page, when everybody is acutely aware this one place is the best place for getting high quality news.
It's pretty definitive
Indeed it is. EE have topped the charts by some distance. Mr Bacon and his promises – how could we ever have thought he'd let us down?
Nevertheless, this is only London. So what about the rest of our green and pleasant land? Rather boringly, it is a very similar picture in terms of ranking. However, Three does close the gap to joint second place with Vodafone on average download speeds.