New H2 2017 Mobile Network Study Ranks EE and Three UK Top

RootMetrics has today released their H2 2017 study of 4G mobile network performance across 16 of the United Kingdom’s most populated metropolitan markets (cities), which predictably scored EE as the best overall network operator and they’re followed in second place by Three UK.

The report claims to have based its findings off 707,610 tests that were conducted using a Samsung Galaxy S8 phone, which supports the latest Gigabit LTE-Advanced (4G+) standards. The testing team also travelled more than 22,048 miles to measure performance, as well as visiting 649 indoor locations, and they claim that this “empirical testing covers 100 percent of the UK’s population” (we’re unsure on what basis they can make that statement).

Overall the summary report is fairly vague and as usual RootMetrics have boiled their data down to a simple score of 0 to 100 (i.e. the higher the score, the better the performance) via several different categories. Individual reports for each of the 16 cities, which contain a lot more detail, can be seen here.

EE comes out on top, which is partly because they have better 4G network coverage and more advanced technology than their rivals. On top of that they also own way more mobile spectrum. Previously Vodafone had been challenging them but they seem to have dropped away and now Three UK has become their nearest competitor.

Overall Performance
1. EE 93.7
2. Three UK 92
3. Vodafone 90.1
4. O2 87.2

Network Reliability
1. EE 95.1
2. Three UK 94.6
3. Vodafone 91.7
4. O2 90.4

Network Speed
1. EE 92.5
2. Vodafone 88.7
3. Three UK 86.8
4. O2 80.9

Data Performance
1. EE 96
2. Three UK 93.5
3. Vodafone 92.9
4. O2 89.3

Call Performance
1. EE 90.2
2. Three UK 89.5
3. Vodafone 85.6
4. O2 83.4

Text Performance
1. EE 96.8
2. Three UK 95.4
3. Vodafone 94.6
4. O2 94.1

The results would appear to spell bad news for O2, which is a Mobile operator that debt strangled parent Telefonica has been trying to offload for the past few years (back in 2016 an attempt to merge with Three UK was blocked by the EU and Ofcom – here). The only upside is that their scores haven’t changed much from the previous study (i.e. rivals have improved in some areas while O2 stood still).

Scott Stonham, General Manager for RootMetrics Europe, said:

“We’re starting to see that capital expenditure in the latest network infrastructure, such as EE’s investment in VoLTE pays off in the form of improved customer experience. According to IHS Markit research, capex is expected to grow moderately this year, and we will see the foundations being laid for fibre plant and 5G.

It will be fascinating to see how the operators balance the creation of the networks of the future and maintaining and improving existing infrastructure.”

All eyes will now be on Ofcom’s forthcoming auction of the new 2.3GHz and 3.4GHz spectrum bands, which the regulator hopes will help to slowly rebalance mobile spectrum ownership and this may give some of EE’s competitors a boost (assuming they’re willing to bid for a good slice of frequency). It’s likely that the 2.3GHz band will help to boost 4G, while 3.4GHz is being aimed more at future 5G technologies.

The downside is that it might take awhile before the new bands are actually put to good use, not least because the first 5G services aren’t expected to launch commercially until 2020 onwards. Another auction to keep an eye out for is the one for 700MHz, which is arguably even more important because Ofcom may attach a tougher coverage obligation to it and this band is useful for extending rural reach.