The BBC has today published the results of their crowd-sourced project to map the coverage of UK mobile networks. The data reveals significant differences in coverage between operators, huge "Not Spots" outside of cities and found that the testers only received a 3G ( Mobile Broadband ) signal 75% of the time (many operators claim to have 90% coverage of 3G).

The information itself was gathered by asking thousands of volunteers to install a special monitoring app on their Android based Smartphones (some 270 models or variants of different phones and tablets were used in the study). This managed to collect a staggering 1.7 million hours worth of data.


It is important to note that not all mobile operators received the same level of representation because of different customer numbers and market shares. Likewise the test itself is described as merely being a "snapshot of coverage rather than a scientific test".

Volume of Test Data Gathered by UK Mobile Operator
1. Orange - 24%
2. Vodafone - 22%
3. T-Mobile - 19%
4. O2 - 21%
5. Three (3) - 14%

Few people will be surprised to learn that the coverage outside of cities was incredibly poor, with many people in rural areas being forced to fall back on either 2G (voice and slow GPRS data) or no service at all. Many main roads (e.g. the A3) and rail networks also suffer from similar problems.

Earlier this year Ofcom published its first research into the country's national Mobile Broadband speeds (here) and discovered that the average mobile internet download speed is just 1.5Mbps (Megabits per second), which rises to 2.1Mbps in areas of "good 3G coverage". Hard luck if you can't get good 3G.

The BBC's Interactive UK Mobile Coverage Map
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14582499

Separately another site, Opensignalmaps (OSM), has done something similar to the BBC with 30,000 users and 10 million locations mapped. The results from that survey suggest that 3G is only available 48% of the time and North Humberside is said to have the country's worst coverage of all.

Opensignalmaps - UK Mobile-Broadband Speeds by Operator
1. Vodafone - (Download 2.20Mbps) (Upload 0.63Mbps)
2. O2 - (Download 2.02Mbps) (Upload 0.43Mbps)
3. Three (3) - (Download 1.85Mbps) (Upload 0.40Mbps)
4. T-Mobile - (Download 1.14Mbps) (Upload 0.31Mbps)
5. Orange - (Download 1.03Mbps) (Upload 0.24Mbps)

It's important to mention 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 wise to spend a little bit more to get a better piece of kit.

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 10:18am

The UK Communications Consumer Panel (CCP) has added a comment.