Three (3) has updated its Mobile Broadband coverage map to include details of its future service rollout plans until 2010. The new plans hint at 'up to' 7.2Mbps services becoming available to 98% of the population by summer 2009. We've edited in our own comparison of the maps below.

This would be an improvement on the operators existing network, which is currently capable of delivering 'up to' 3.6Mbps speeds to 95% of the population. Furthermore those living in 'big' cities, such as London, should be able to receive 'up to' 14.4Mbps by the third quarter of 2010:


The news is in addition to Three's August announcement (here), in which it pledged to bring 'up to' 7.2Mbps support to its network by the end of this summer. However while all these headline rates may be wonderful, in reality most real-world consumers still experience an average of around 1Mbps+.

Many consumers have also criticised Mobile Broadband coverage for being too patchy, with connections often dropping out or slowing to the point of becoming virtually unusable. It’s important to remember that 3.5G (HSPA) technology is best used outdoors and has only been around for a short period, while bold talk of 90%+ coverage doesn’t reflect service quality.