Mobile trading platforms in Britain – London’s 4G access far superior to rest of country

Brokerages in Britain which offer mobile trading platforms have now got another factor to consider when providing retail clients with a trading environment that allows them to access the markets via their smartphones.

Due to the nature of the retail electronic trading market in Britain, the vast majority of firms provide proprietary platforms which are geared toward CFD trading and spread betting, and subsequently proprietary mobile platforms which are developed in house and connect to secure servers within the confines of the head offices of Britain’s retail giants.

The bespoke nature of the platforms marks Britain’s firms out as technological leaders as well as FX brokerages, however when conducting inhouse development, not just internal infrastructure should be borne in mind, especially in a world which is becoming considerably more mobile led, and in which mobile platforms are now not just the preserve of those wishing to monitor their positions and view price feeds, but also to execute trades on the go.

The connectivity available by telecommunications providers is a major factor to consider, especially when considering that trades required to be executed within nanoseconds, requiring a very quick cellular connection.

Today, yet more evidence of the London-centric nature of Britain’s infrastructure has come to light, that being that a 4G signal in London is twice as likely to be obtainable than in the rest of the country, thus contributing to a faster mobile trading environment in the capital compared to that of the provinces.

Before any images of a deer-stalker toting farmer with a Barbour jacket compared to a slick, sharply dressed city slicker with an ultra-modern understanding of today’s latest FinTech developments come to mind, it is important to consider that there are many highly sophisticated Britons who have large portfolios and make daily trips to London for various business purposes, yet live a short train journey away in the Home Counties, or in a Cotswold Village.

It is widely understood that despite the technological prowess of London, it is very hard to come by a 4G signal in the UK, however London is a long way ahead of other regions, with 70% 4G coverage, compared to just 35 per cent in Wales.

While London has the best access to 4G, it had the lowest average 4G speed. On average London’s 4G speed is 18.8Mbps which is the slowest of any region in Britain. Northern Ireland’s 23.3Mbps was the fastest average speed, but accessibility there is almost non-existent.

This shows that whilst London has greater 4G coverage, the providers cannot cope with the demand, and speeds are low as a result.

Brokerages with aspirations of going mobile-first may wish to consider these statistics, as they invest tremendous sums into the development of bespoke platforms and internal hosting of the entire trading environment, therefore dedicated telecommunications services via some of Britain’s major connectivity suppliers may also be worthy of consideration until such time that the 4G network in the provinces catches up with that of well served regions of the world in which electronic trading systems are developed such as Israel and the United States.