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 113.26 m connections in 2019. Among them were 80.97 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 93% of all residents have access to the Internet. Approximately 40% 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 84.54 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, the United Kingdom ranked 49th in an international comparison. The upload rate of only 23.56 Mbit/second was significantly lower (79th place). The quality of the Internet, consisting of signal fluctuations (jitter) and latency, is very far ahead at 18th place.In mobile internet, i.e. on tablets and smartphones, the United Kingdom comes 31st with a download speed of 54.81 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 11 Mbit was enough for 88th place.
The "Speedtest Global Index" published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in Februar 2021 from 175 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 - 2019
Broadband internet in the United Kingdom 2000 - 2019
Landlines 1990 - 2019
Mobile phones 1990 - 2019
| Spreading in 2019 | United Kingdom Total | United Kingdom percent | EU Total | EU percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 61.83 m | 92.52 % | 382.31 m | 85.43 % |
| Broadband users | 26.79 m | 40.08 % | 158.30 m | 35.37 % |
| Landlines | 32.29 m | 48.31 % | 165.48 m | 36.98 % |
| Mobile cellulars | 80.97 m | 121.15 % | 542.60 m | 121.25 % |