EE is 'UK's best mobile network', followed by Three and O2 - with Vodafone coming last

EE was ranked first or joint first in all categories, with Three a close second

EE has been ranked as the UK’s best mobile operator, followed by Three and O2 with Vodafone performing worst, according to new research.

A comprehensive report of the UK’s networks found that EE came top in five categories, including reliability, speed, mobile internet, call performance and texting, although researchers RootMetric said that the other operators were all showing signs of improvements.

Three was singled out as ‘closing the gap’ with EE, sharing the top award in the survey’s reliability index and coming a close second in what RootMetric called a “two horse race” in mobile internet performance.

The mobile research firm conducted more than 920,000 tests across the UK in the first six months of the year, and ranked EE the best network for England and Northern Ireland and Three the top choice for Scotland and Wales.

A breakdown of how each operator performed in different categories. Image creidt: Root Metric

EE hailed the tests as showing that the company provides “the best mobile experience for businesse and consumers” although experts point it has had a head start in rolling out its 4G capability.

A spokesperson for Vodafone – who placed last in all but one category - told the BBC that the company would be spending £1bn on improving its network in 2014 alone.

Bryn Jones, Three’s Chief Technology Operator, said: “We've invested heavily to ensure our customers can rely on a consistent service and as our 4G rollout progresses we will continue to focus on delivering the best mobile experience possible.”

O2 however, disputed some of the results of the test, saying that their own researched showed their network as “number one in 17 out of the 20 key cities tested for voice-call performance and top in 12 out of 20 for data”.

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