BBC: Mobile coverage remains patchy

 

Gallery

By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 24 Aug 2011 at 09:21

Britons can only get 3G coverage 75% of the time, according to a crowd-sourced mobile map from the BBC.

Operators claim 90% of the UK has 3G coverage, the BBC said.

The map - available here - tracked 44,600 volunteers' signals for several weeks over the summer.

Whenever 3G wasn't available, about a quarter of the time, they had to fall back to much slower 2G. The BBC said the results showed mobile networks continue to be patchier than operators suggest, but O2 told the broadcaster: "The issue of coverage is no longer about covering the land mass to meet a percentage target, but about depth and quality of experience."

Cities tended to have the best coverage, and rural areas were often the patchiest, but testers on busy roads and rail networks also struggled to find 3G connections.

The Communications Consumer Panel, an Ofcom advisory board, welcomed the study, saying the number of people taking part "demonstrates how significant coverage is to people’s everyday lives”.

“Today’s mobile coverage survey results from the BBC reinforce the Panel’s views about the extent of the coverage problems experienced by people in the UK on a day-to-day basis," said. "These coverage issues also cause significant disadvantage to small businesses."

The BBC warned that the data is only a "snapshot", and it hasn't "attempted to balance the participants either geographically or by service provider".