The number of UK consumers able to access 4G networks has increased by approximately seven million over the past 12 months, according to the latest testing from RootMetrics, the independent mobile performance information provider.
Using its scientific methodology, the company calculates that approximately 54 million people across all four major operators can now use 4G, compared to 47 million at the end of 2015.
The findings, part of the RootMetrics 2H 2016 UK reports, also showed that reliability is improving across the country. Levels have increased by 8% in the same time period, meaning that networks are providing consumers with a more dependable service – from making calls and avoiding dropped lines to downloading and uploading data.
EE shows strength in national and metro areas, but faces competition
The report showed that EE continues to perform well, achieving a clean sweep across all RootScore Award categories, given by RootMetrics to the best performer in each category. At the UK-wide level, EE claimed every award (Overall, Reliability, Speed, Data, Text, Call) either outright or tied, including winning the Overall Award for each country in the UK. This is the second consecutive time that EE has achieved this, with the operator also leading the pack in RootMetrics 1H 2016 testing.
However, the operator did face stronger competition in the latter part of 2016. Vodafone, Three and O2 didn’t earn any national RootScore Awards in the first half of the year, but, in the second half, each operator improved to tie with EE in several regional categories.
In Wales, for example, Three and EE shared the Network Reliability RootScore Award, while in Scotland, Vodafone and EE shared both the Text and Call RootScore Awards. In Northern Ireland, Vodafone, O2 and EE shared the Call and Text RootScore Awards.
At a city level, EE earned the most RootScore Awards of any network in the second half of the year – despite other operators improving performance (notably Vodafone and Three). Compared to the first half of 2016, EE earned one additional award (taking it to 94 out of 96), while Vodafone increased its tally by nine (to 33), with Three doing so by seven (to 20) and O2 by one (to 28).
Other highlights from the latest RootMetrics national report include:
- EE continues to show strength in Data and Speed, and won all UK-wide awards outright, maintaining its UK top position for the whole of 2016. EE was the only operator achieve median download speeds of 20+ Mbps in all 16 metros tested
- Vodafone showed an improvement in Text and Call performance especially at the nation level, tying for first place in each category in both Northern Ireland and Scotland. This takes the network to four nation-level wins (out of 30), which is its best performance since RootMetrics started testing UK-wide mobile performance
- Three increased its 4G rollout, which helped it improve its performance for Speed. Three also earned a Reliability win in Wales, which it won in 2H 2015 but lost last half
- O2 shared the Call and Text Awards in Northern Ireland, up from no awards at the nation level last half
The RootMetrics 2H 2016 Mobile Network Performance in the UK report provides consumers with a complete picture of the current mobile landscape in the UK.
To compile the most comprehensive independent scientific study of its kind, RootMetrics collected 805,277 samples during the second half of 2016 and drove 23,984 miles – the equivalent of driving from London to Edinburgh nearly 60 times. Tests were conducted around the clock whilst driving and at 847 indoor locations, ensuring 100% of the population is covered by the results.
“Our independent, comprehensive, and scientific testing showed significant increases in both 4G availability and the reliability of mobile services over the past year across all networks,” said Scott Stonham, general manager of Europe at RootMetrics. “Consumer demand for data-heavy services – such as video and music streaming – is exploding. As consumers hunt for the strongest performance they can afford, mobile operators are making investments to make sure they keep up.”
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