­London UK has been found to have 3G mobile broadband speeds that average a quarter of those available in New York, USA - according to a survey by RootMetrics.

Based on tests carried out by an app installed in smartphones, the company reported that both upload and download speeds were significantly faster in New York compared to London.

The company based its findings on 11,413 speed tests carried out in London and 5,294 in New York.

The average download speed for New York was 8.5Mbps, compared to 2.27 Mbps in London. The average upload speed in New York was 4Mbps compared to just 1Mbps in London.

"With mobile internet use soaring, having a fast, reliable data connection has become as important as having a consistent mobile signal," said RootMetrics CEO Bill Moore. "It's quite amazing to find such a vast disparity in services between two cities that are rival destinations for global business and tourism."

Unsurprisingly, the edges of London reported faster mobile broadband speeds, where there are fewer users per cell site.

In terms of overall operator performance, Three was the top scorer with 81 points, followed by O2 (75), Vodafone (73), Orange (68) and then T-Mobile (66). T-Mobile and Orange are merging into the single EE branded network at the moment.