Despite it being a pretty large city, one in which many use smartphones and devices of all types to make calls and use data, London is apparently one of the worst destinations when it comes to mobile broadband.
This tidbit comes to us from uSwitch.com, a consumer website, and it goes on to say that “speeds on offer to businesspeople and local residents using a handset are the slowest in each of the country's ten largest cities.”
The research says that the average 3G mobile broadband speed in London stood only at 2.71 Mbps - almost 24 percent slower than that of Portsmouth (3.56 Mbps); the city with the fastest average 3G connectivity speed in the entire UK.
London was behind Cardiff and Edinburgh whose average 3G speeds stood at 2.9 Mbps and 2.94 Mbps respectively.
A recent uSwitch.com survey of more than 1,000 smartphone users reveals that many are disappointed with the 3G connection and speeds currently being used. 39 percent of respondents are unhappy with their current 3G speeds, with almost half (47 percent) saying their download speeds are ‘slow’. Only 6 percent are happy with the ‘very fast’ speed of their mobile Internet.
Ernest Doku, technology expert at uSwitch.com, said, “Despite Government efforts to bring Britain into the digital age, it seems the road to seamless telecoms infrastructure is not an altogether smooth one.”
“Major UK cities, including London, are being left in the slow lane,” he added.
This could pose as a major problem, especially since hundreds of thousands of people will come to London and the UK for the Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
“The rollout of fourth generation mobile internet (4G) will be crucial if Britain hopes to remain an economic force on the world stage and compete in the global market,” Doku said.
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Michelle Amodio is a MobilityTechzone contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.Edited by
Jennifer Russell 
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