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UPD2 BBC Study to Map Street Level UK Mobile Broadband and Voice Coverage

Posted: 18th Jul, 2011 By: MarkJ
mobile broadband base station mastmobile reception barsThe BBC has announced a new national project that aims to produce the first truly independent and street level map of 2G and 3G ( Mobile Broadband ) mobile phone coverage in the UK. The data will be collected by a new app, which has been developed by network analysts firm Epitiro (this will be made available to anybody with an Android handset).

Reception is one of the single most frustrating aspects of modern mobile services. Good reception means that your operator will switch you to its fastest network platform and be more stable. Bad reception forces you to tolerate slower and increasingly unstable links, which can cause serious service disruption.

Earlier this year Ofcom published its first research into the country's national Mobile Broadband speeds (full details) and discovered that the average mobile internet download speed is just 1.5Mbps (Megabits per second) - rising to 2.1Mbps in areas of "good 3G coverage". By contrast the national average speed for fixed line broadband ISP connections is 6.2Mbps.

Gavin Johns, CEO of Epitiro, commented:

"Coverage is the number one issue for consumers. Our coverage app will provide the information consumers need to see if 3G services are available and from which mobile operator. As mobile broadband is important to many of us, we hope people volunteer and make the project a success."

At present the only coverage data available has come from the operators themselves, most of which appear to have conflicting methodologies for gauging the reach and effectiveness of their respective networks. Ofcom estimates that 91% of the UK has 2G coverage and 76% has 3G coverage.

An Ofcom Spokesperson said:

"More information on coverage is required, and this should be in a standardised format enabling comparison between operator services such that users can make an informed decision about coverage in their area. Whilst postcode-based checkers go some way to this, their accuracy is limited to the point at which they have limited value."

bbc android mobile_coverage appThe communications regulator is known to be conducting its own study into mobile phone coverage, which is due to be published sometime later this year. Meanwhile the BBC's project aims to follow suit and publish an interactive street level map of its findings. It will be interesting to compare the two.

It's important to stress that mobile coverage isn't just about the operator's network. Many lower cost phones and USB Modems (Dongles) come with cheap receivers that result in poor performance and it's often worth spending a little more to get a better piece of kit.

At the time of writing the BBC has not made its new Android app available, although we'll keep an eye out for it and update accordingly.
Related ISPreview.co.uk Guides
* Top Tips for Improving Mobile-Broadband Performance
* WiBE UK Mobile-Broadband Signal Booster REVIEW
* How to Use Mobile-Broadband
* Broadband Solutions for Remote and Rural UK Communities
UPDATE 8:17am

The Android App can be downloaded here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/uk/11/3g_survey/inc/disc.inc

UPDATE 20th July 2011

A new version of the app, which has so far been downloaded almost 40,000 times since Monday, is now available. It apparently stops testing if battery life drops below 30% but can test continually when a phone is being charged. This should help with concerns over its impact upon battery life.
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