The UK is lagging behind most of the EU in terms of 5G availability, with just 42% of the UK populous having 5G devices that are mainly connected to 5G networks.

This is in contrast to Europe’s top competitors, the Nordic countries, with Denmark in the lead with 83.4% 5G availability. Switzerland is the only other country to beat the 80% threshold.

This is according to new research from Speedtest.net, which assessed the 5G progress across European countries in terms of connection availability.

The results are somewhat disappointing for the UK, which appeared to be a trend setter in the earlier days of 5G performance and adoption.

A series of policy issues, such as the ban of Hauwei which was predicted to potentially delay 5G rollout completion by up to three years, as well as delays to spectrum releases by Ofcom which could improve urban 5G availability, are likely culprits behind this lag behind European competitors.

Previous and current government policies to ensure 5G hits all populated areas by 2030 seem vague and potentially too low of a target to effectively catch up.

This does not even begin to mention the issues around rural and remote connectivity woes, and the delay of 4G rollout to some of the UK’s most disconnected locations.

Commercial 5G rollout continues to struggle to catchup with masts and fibre optics, as planning permissions can delay construction as well.

The research from Speedtest, however, does point out that spectrum configuration decisions are pivitol to the prospects of continued connectivity success, as well as being directly linked to the quality of this connection.

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European countries that are outperforming the UK, including Ireland (at 61.9% 5G availability) and the Netherlands (60.5%), have done so by relying on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) which enables 4G and 5G networks to share the same frequency bands at the same time

While a cost-effective method to expand 5G coverage, the reliance on DSS can negatively impact 5G performance and is therefore meant to be a temporary technique used only until more 5G networks are produced.

The Nordic model of not relying on DSS for their expansion, making 5G rollout key to their digital strategy, and encouraging higher levels of inter-operator collaboration on mobile infrastructure buildouts has contributed to their 5G rollout success.

While the UK still outperforms countries like Hungary (23.6%) and Slovenia (36.8%), 5G rollout needs to be of continued importance to protect the success of businesses, enable equal access to education, and eradicate digital exclusion.