Telecommunication in the United Kingdom
The development of telecommunications in the United Kingdom is roughly equivalent to the average of the European Union. Under the country code +44, there were a total of 111.09 m connections in 2020. Among them were 79.01 m million mobile phones, which corresponds to an average of 1.2 per person. In the EU, this figure is 1.2 mobile phones per person.In the expansion of broadband Internet connections the United Kingdom is very well in the race. Around 95% of all residents have access to the Internet. Approximately 41% have their own fast Internet connection, which is at least faster than the previous ISDN (more than 2048 kbit/s).
With about 8.11 m webhosts, the United Kingdom is below the world's average by population.
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Development of telephone and internet connections
With an average download speed of 93.03 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, the United Kingdom ranked 49th in an international comparison. The upload rate of only 26.90 Mbit/second was significantly lower (73rd place). The quality of the Internet, consisting of signal fluctuations (jitter) and latency, is very far ahead at 20th place.In mobile internet, i.e. on tablets and smartphones, the United Kingdom comes 24th with a download speed of 77.55 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 12 Mbit was enough for 78th place.
The "Speedtest Global Index" published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in Mai 2021 from 180 countries.
The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and Internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100% mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.
Access to the Internet in the United Kingdom from 1990 - 2020
Broadband internet in the United Kingdom 2000 - 2020
Landlines 1990 - 2020
Mobile phones 1990 - 2020
| Distribution in 2020 | United Kingdom Total | United Kingdom percent | EU Total | EU percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 63.73 m | 94.82 % | 393.46 m | 87.87 % |
| Broadband users | 27.49 m | 40.90 % | 162.67 m | 36.33 % |
| Landlines | 32.08 m | 47.72 % | 159.99 m | 35.73 % |
| Mobile cellulars | 79.01 m | 117.54 % | 541.96 m | 121.03 % |