UK communications regulator Ofcom has announced a reduction in annual licence fees for mobile spectrum use in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands, lowering them by 26% to £1.032 million and £0.760 million per MHz, respectively. However, fees for the 2100 MHz band have increased by 6% to £0.722 million per MHz. These changes will cut operators’ total spectrum fees by roughly £60 million annually, dropping from £325 million to £265 million. Ofcom is also considering adjustments to trading regulations to simplify mobile spectrum trading.
Alongside the fee changes, Ofcom published its latest Mobile Matters report based on data from Opensignal collected between October 2024 and March 2025. The study revealed a continued shift toward 5G, now accounting for 28% of mobile connections (up 9% year-on-year), while 4G dropped to 71%. Usage of 2G and 3G remains minimal and continues to decline, especially as older networks are phased out.
5G performance led in speed, with a 2MB file downloading in just 0.3 seconds compared to 0.7 seconds on 4G and nearly five seconds on 3G. Although standalone 5G (5G SA) currently makes up only 2% of connections, it offers faster download speeds and lower latency, though it lags slightly behind non-standalone 5G in connection success rates.
Among mobile providers, EE had the highest proportion of 5G users (32%), while Vodafone led in 4G adoption (76%). Three offered the fastest 5G download times and lowest latency, whereas O2 consistently recorded slower speeds and higher latency on both 4G and 5G. Northern Ireland was noted for having the slowest download speeds across the UK, underlining the importance of national initiatives like the Shared Rural Network.
