O/T State of mobile networks in the UK.

[AmexRuislip]

An interesting insight to mobile networks in the UK.

Open Signal report October 2016.

https://opensignal.com/reports/2016...eport=2016/09/uk/state-of-the-mobile-network/

4G mobile networks in the UK are fast, but they're still hard to find.
Open signal has once again partnered with Which? to go examine 3G / 4G performance in the UK.
Over the summer we conducted over 500 million measurements on the networks of 3, EE, Vodaphone and O2, and we passed that data on the national and regional level.
Our test reveals that consumers are reaping benefits of fast 4G connections throughout the country, particularly as new technologies like LTE-Advanced take hold.
Apart from London, however, our uses had limited access to those fast speeds.

 

[studio150]

Do people actually look for 4G, or tend to use free wifi when out and about in towns.

 

[middletoenail]

This is interesting, the Chinese are just about to launch 5g - http://m.economictimes.com/news/int...-global-telecom-race/articleshow/54693524.cms

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

UK seems to be lagging behind with 4G LTE coverage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_4G_LTE_penetration

 

[dannyboy]

I barely get a 2g signal where I live and need a booster box. went to a random Croatian island in the summer ...... perfect signal

 

[chairman]

i am in the depths of rural cornwall and we are still using two baked beans tins and a piece of string' so 4G and sometimes 3Gsignals are in our dreams mostof the time

 

[AmexRuislip]

i am in the depths of rural cornwall and we are still using two baked beans tins and a piece of string' so 4G and sometimes 3Gsignals are in our dreams mostof the time

Has there been any government initiative to put better 4G coverage in your area?

 

[MF'84]

I've got a dual sim phone supplied by work so I don't have to carry about separate work and personal phones. Bearing in mind I live just over a mile from where I work, my EE 'work' sim has a great signal at home and a poor signal in the office and my Giffgaff 'personal' sim... yeah you guessed it... is useless at home but fine at work. It does my head in

 

[Fungus]

i am in the depths of rural cornwall and we are still using two baked beans tins and a piece of string' so 4G and sometimes 3Gsignals are in our dreams mostof the time

I get a decent signal at home on the top of a hill in Truro, but when we go out walking on the coastal paths, we're often without any signal at all, so can't even make an emergency call. Round the towns and villages it's very hit and miss.

Quite an eye-opener when we come to Sussex and have a signal pretty much everywhere.

 

[LowKarate]

This is interesting, the Chinese are just about to launch 5g - http://m.economictimes.com/news/int...-global-telecom-race/articleshow/54693524.cms

We won't be that far behind.

https://5g.co.uk/news/ee-aims-to-stay-ahead-of-the-pack-with-5g-plans/4009/

 

[Dorset Seagull]

I was involved in the launch of the worlds first digital mobile network back in 1993 so it looks like we may have slipped back against the rest of the world since

 

[happypig]

I was involved in the launch of the worlds first digital mobile network back in 1993 so it looks like we may have slipped back against the rest of the world since

We may have slipped a bit (although I'm a bit sceptical that you can get 4G in 81% of Kazakhstan) but that's probably because of the way we initially provided the mobile network; in order to get cellsites up and running, a lot of the old TACS and 2G sites were provided over copper pairs (using compression they could squeeze around 90 calls down a 2 meg pipe).
Now that pretty much every cellsite is fed by fibre, upgrades are much easier.

 

[beorhthelm]

mobile coverage is another victim of nimbyism, we need to allow more cell towers but the locals dont want one. Gavin & Stacy sends up the situation perfectly, complaining they cant get a signal to call someone to meet at the protest against a new mast...

but also economics of it is challenging away from towns, because you might not be able to justify the cost of the tower, kit and running to cover a valley with a few hundred people. do we want to cross-subsidise? and towns have problems because building block signals.

 

[Norman Potting]

mobile coverage is another victim of nimbyism, we need to allow more cell towers but the locals dont want one. Gavin & Stacy sends up the situation perfectly, complaining they cant get a signal to call someone to meet at the protest against a new mast...

but also economics of it is challenging away from towns, because you might not be able to justify the cost of the tower, kit and running to cover a valley with a few hundred people. do we want to cross-subsidise? and towns have problems because building block signals.

This with bells on - if you can get a signal.