text: The new 4G mobile phone services in the UK are not as super-fast as the industry promised - and could get worse. The mobile phone companies boasted that 4G services would be ‘five times faster’ than the existing 3G networks when they launched in the autumn of 2012. However, a new official study puts the real figure at an average of 2.5 times faster - 14.7 megabits per second compared to 5.9Mbit/s per second on the 3G service that most people use. A study by Ofcom says 4G speeds in the UK are slower than promised. Mobile phone companies boasted 4G would be five times faster than 3G. But the actual figure is actually only 2.5 times faster - 14.7 megabits per second. Shown is an HTC One XL smartphone at a news conference in Zurich launching 4G in 2012 . At the same time, the evidence suggests that 4G services are likely to slow down as more people connect to them. 4G technology is being promoted by the big mobile networks on the basis it offers high speed internet access and smooth video streaming without annoying buffering. More than 10 million people have been won over by the promises and have signed two year contracts costing an average of £20 ($30) a month. The 4G speed data comes from the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, which supports the technology and insists the figures show a meaningful and significant benefit over the 3G services. Despite this, the figures make clear the step change has not been as remarkable as the major networks - EE, O2, Vodafone and Three - promised. Ofcom’s research compares the speed and geographic coverage of the networks and puts EE, which is the subject of a £12.5 billion ($18.5 billion) takeover by BT, on top. EE’s 4G network, which covers 81 per cent of homes and businesses, delivered the fastest average download speed of 18.6Mbit/s. This looks good when compared with its 3G service, which was a slow 4Mbit/s. Second fastest was Vodafone with 16.4 for 4G versus 6.6 for 3G. O2 came next at 13.9 versus 6.6, followed by Three at a relatively slow 8.5 for 4G which was not very impressive against the 5.4 for 3G. Upload speeds are important when sharing content, such as pictures and videos to social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. EE was also fastest on this measure at 17.6Mbit/s, followed by O2 on 13.2, Vodafone on 13.1 and Three with 9.4. The Three network was the fastest to load a web page at 0.63 seconds, compared to 0.71 for O2, 0.76 for Vodafone and 0.77 for EE. There is good evidence to believe the speeds offered by 4G are slowing down. When 4G services launched at the end of 2012, the average download speed was up at around 19 Mbit/s, however the new research suggests an average of 14.7 and other studies put it as low as 10. This has happened because more people are using the service, effectively causing jams on the airwaves. The only way this can be countered is if the networks spend millions upgrading masts and installing new ones. Ofcom’s research compares the speed and geographic coverage of the networks and puts EE, which is the subject of a £12.5 billion ($18.5 billion) takeover by BT, on top. EE’s 4G network, which covers 81 per cent of homes and businesses, delivered the fastest average download speed of 18.6Mbit/s . The Ofcom figures are based on 120,000 smartphone tests in five sample towns and cities - Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Newcastle and Poole/Bournemouth - between October and December. Its study found that download speeds in Edinburgh fell by 12.5 per cent between the summer and end of last year. The time to call up a web page improved marginally from 0.8 seconds to 0.72. Ofcom admitted: ‘As more people are taking 4G services from the mobile operators, this is likely to affect the average speeds being received.’ The speeds for London were unchanged over the same period, while there was no data for the other areas. Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s Consumer Director, said the study is designed to boost competition by helping consumers decide which mobile networks are offer the best service. He said: ‘People are increasingly connected, communicating and sharing content on their mobiles when out and about. ‘4G is delivering a significantly enhanced mobile experience and, as these services roll out across the UK, our research will support consumers when choosing the right mobile package for their needs.’
target: Study by Ofcom says 4G speeds in the UK are slower than promised .
  Mobile phone companies boasted 4G would be 5x faster than 3G .
  But actual figure is actually only 2.5x faster - 14.7 megabits per second .
  Out of the networks, EE was fastest, followed by Vodafone, O2 and Three .