Europe-wide driving tests reveal London has the worst 5G Quality of Experience

Brussels and London Lag in 5G Experience, Highlighting Need for Network Improvements

Brussels and London are falling behind in 5G network performance, according to a new report from Spanish testing and benchmarking firm MedUX.

London ranks last in overall mobile experience, mirroring its poor performance in 2024. The city continues to suffer from subpar 5G availability, slow speeds, and unreliable service quality.

MedUX conducted its research through extensive drive tests during Q4 2024, covering 15 major cities across 11 European countries.

The study spanned over 5,500 kilometres and encompassed a population of more than 60 million people to assess how mobile operators are deploying and managing 5G coverage.

Brussels significantly lags behind leading cities in overall 5G Quality of Experience with lower 5G availability and slower speeds undermining its performance. The city struggles with overall reliability and streaming service quality.

By contrast, Porto and Stockholm arre leaders in Europe for overall quality of experience each scoring 4.78 out of 5.

Lisbon and Copenhagen also ranked highly, demonstrating strong 5G deployment and user satisfaction. The report highlights significant gaps in service quality across the continent, particularly in Brussels and London.

“This report underscores the importance of a holistic approach to 5G quality. While coverage and speed remain key factors, high-quality 5G connectivity and consistent performance across all services and applications are crucial for delivering a superior user experience,” said Rafael González, SVP EMEA at MedUX.

“Our findings provide valuable insights for operators looking to optimise their networks and meet the evolving needs of their customers in the 5G era.”

The report claiison average, users in major European cities remain connected to 4G for 25 per cent of the time.

Among the 75 per cent connected to 5G, 10 per cent of deployments lack mid-band spectrum, limiting the full potential of 5G technology. MedUX warns that this shortfall hinders the transformative impact of 5G and calls for urgent policy and investment shifts to support high-quality deployments.