Vodafone has been named the UK's faster mobile broadband provider in a new study conducted by Opensignalmaps.

The broadband provider was found to deliver an average download speed of 2.2Mb to dongle users, along with 0.63Mb uploads, reports ISPreview.co.uk.

O2 was the firm's nearest rival, recording an average of 2.02Mb and uploads of 0.43Mb, with Three in third place with 1.85Mb downloads and 0.40Mb uploads.

T-Mobile and Orange – the two broadband providers owned by Everything Everywhere in the UK – were found to offer the slowest speeds.

Orange delivered 1.03Mb downloads and uploads of 0.24Mb, with T-Mobile faring slightly better with 1.14Mb downloads and 0.31Mb uploads.

In related news, the BBC recently published a new map detailing 3G mobile broadband coverage across the UK.

The map may help dongle users assess the likelihood of being able to connect to the internet in specific locations across the nation.