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Articles for Category Tag - 3G

Ofcom – Full Fibre Broadband Grows to Cover 14% of the UK

10th September, 2020 (13 Comments)

Ofcom has today released their Summer 2020 update for UK broadband and mobile networks, which reveals that “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage has grown to 14% or 4.2 million premises (up from 12% in Jan 2020) and 2% (590,000 premises) are still unable to get speeds of 10Mbps+. Geographic 4G coverage is now 67% (unchanged).

Vodafone UK Suffering Disruption to Mobile Network

1st September, 2020 (31 Comments)

Some customers of mobile operator Vodafone UK are reporting that another network outage is currently taking place, which appears to be disrupting both data (mobile broadband) and voice connectivity on their 3G and 4G networks (not enough feedback to say if 5G is affected but that seems likely).

H1 2020 Tutela Study Names EE Fastest UK 4G Mobile Operator

17th August, 2020 (4 Comments)

Crowdsourced data analysis firm Tutela has revealed the results from their H1 2020 study of 4G based mobile broadband performance (speeds, latency etc.) in the United Kingdom. Once again EE (BT) remains top of the pack with median average downloads of 21.2Mbps and one-way latency times of 12ms (milliseconds).

EE Retains Lead as the UK’s Best Mobile Network for H1 2020

29th July, 2020 (8 Comments)

The latest biannual H1 2020 study of mobile network (4G and 5G) performance across the United Kingdom, which was conducted by RootMetrics, has once again named EE (BT) as the best overall operator. On top of that they delivered the fastest median (average) broadband download speed of 42.6Mbps (up from 36.5Mbps).

Vodafone UK Leave WiFi Calling Users Waiting for SMS Support

1st July, 2020 (45 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone’s recent decision to stop selling their femtocell based Sure Signal 3G router on 30th April 2020, while instead encouraging use of Wi-Fi Calling, has one significant flaw. The latter still doesn’t support the ability to send and receive text (SMS) messages (it’s been listed as coming “soon” since 2018).

UK Mobile Firms Remove Data Charges on Sites Supporting Victims of Crime

11th June, 2020 (0 Comments)

The UK Government has today reached an agreement with Vodafone, Three UK, Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media (Virgin Mobile), O2, EE (BT), Sky Mobile and giffgaff to remove mobile data (mobile broadband) charges for customers who need to access websites that support some of the most vulnerable victims of crime.

O2 and Ericsson Deal to Continue 5G Rollout Across the UK

10th June, 2020 (10 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 UK and telecoms technology giant Ericsson have today agreed to expand their existing relationship by deploying the firm’s latest 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) hardware, software and service upgrades across the “West” of the United Kingdom. The work will include upgrades for existing 2G, 3G and 4G sites.

EU Court Overturns 2016 Block of O2 and Three UK Merger

28th May, 2020 (7 Comments)

The European Court of Justice (General Court) has today annulled a decision by the European Commission’s competition authority, which in 2016 blocked mobile operators O2 and Three UK from merging. The ruling found that the decision to block the £10.45bn deal had failed to prove that such a merger would damage competition.

COVID-19 – EE Report Reveals Internet Traffic During Lockdown

26th May, 2020 (6 Comments)

EE (BT) has published their latest Mobile Network Data report from February to May 2020, which tracked the changing trends and habits of the UK’s most used internet apps and services throughout lockdown. The report also revealed a 45% increase in data (mobile broadband) use for communication services (WhatsApp, Skype etc.).

Ofcom – Full Fibre Broadband Grows to 3.5Million UK Premises

13th May, 2020 (25 Comments)

Ofcom has published their Spring 2020 update for UK broadband and mobile networks, which reveals that “full fibre” (FTTP) coverage has risen to 12% (up from 10% in September 2019) and the number of premises unable to get 10Mbps+ remains at 2% (608,000 premises). Geographic 4G coverage is now 67% (up from 66%).

COVID-19 – Three UK Reveals Impact of Crisis on Network Traffic

6th May, 2020 (17 Comments)

Mobile operator Three UK has published a brief update on the impact of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on their national 4G and 5G based network, which among other things has seen data (mobile broadband) usage increase by 12% and calls grow by 8% to 2.5 billion in March 2020.

UK Ranks 59th Out of 228 Countries for Price of 1GB Mobile Data

6th May, 2020 (1 Comment)

A new study has analysed 5,554 mobile data (mobile broadband) plans across 228 countries this year in order to compare the cost of a 1GB (GigaByte) data allowance, which found that the United Kingdom has significantly improved its rank to 59th (up from 136th in 2019) with an average price of $1.39 USD per GB (down from $6.66).

CMA Shuns Competition Fears to Clear £2bn Cellnex Buy of Arqiva

22nd April, 2020 (3 Comments)

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today cleared Arqiva to proceed with the proposed £2bn sale of their UK masts and rooftop sites to Cellnex (here) which, despite protests from mobile network operator Three UK, ultimately found that the deal “does not raise competition concerns.”

Rootmetrics – EE and Vodafone Named Best in Wales for Mobile

15th April, 2020 (6 Comments)

RootMetrics has today published the results from their latest H1 2020 study of 4G and 5G mobile network and mobile broadband performance conducted across Wales, which is based on over 156,000 scientific tests conducted during the first couple of months of 2020. Overall EE and Vodafone UK are neck and neck at the top

How to Choose an External 4G or 5G Mobile Broadband Antenna

11th April, 2020 (74 Comments)

Most of us are lucky enough to live within reach of a fairly strong UK mobile broadband (3G, 4G or 5G) network signal but that isn’t true everywhere, particularly in some remote rural areas. Sometimes the best way to receive a stronger signal is to try installing your own external antenna but knowing what to get can be tricky.

The Hidden Catch to Zero Rated UK Mobile Data on NHS Sites

7th April, 2020 (3 Comments)

Over the past few weeks all of the major UK mobile operators (O2, Vodafone, etc.) have responded to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis by, among other things, zero rating (no charge) data usage on specific support websites (e.g. NHS). But this doesn’t always work as advertised and can still eat into your allowance.

Virgin Media UK Launch WiFi Calling for Mobile Customers

3rd April, 2020 (24 Comments)

Customers of Virgin Mobile UK (Virgin Media), specifically their Pay Monthly subscribers, may be pleased to know that the operator has today launched the ‘Wi-Fi Calling‘ feature on their service at no additional cost, with usage deducted from your existing airtime allowance. But you’ll need a supporting Smartphone to benefit.