CROWD
316,000 users from the UK have contributed around 5.3 billion measurement samples between early April and mid-November, 2019. We have conducted a thorough analysis of this extensive data set, using an even more refined crowdsourcing methodology compared to previous years.
While the drive tests and walk tests determine the peak performance of the examined networks, crowdsourcing can add important dimensions such as time, geography or variety in devices and tariff plans – if done in the right way. A detailed description of our crowdsourcing methodology can be found on the methodology page. A total of 316,000 mobile phone users in the UK have provided relevant samples to our crowd data. The test area of our crowdsourcing represents 91.7 percent of the built-up area of the UK and even 99.6 percent of the urban built-up area.
GOOD VOICE AND DATA COVERAGE FOR ALL UK
OPERATORS, EE ALSO ACHIEVES GOOD SCORE FOR
4G
All four UK operators achieve a good score level for voice and data coverage. With our 2019 benchmark setup, we have started differentiating the coverage in urban and non-urban areas. In the urban consideration, EE provides the best 4G coverage, with Vodafone and O2 following at roughly the same level. In the non-urban areas, EE and O2 achieve good 4G coverage results, with Vodafone following at a close distance. Three ranks clearly behind the competition in all coverage considerations.
EE DELIVERS BEST OVERALL USER DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEEDS
Our refined crowdsourcing methodology not only analyses User Download Speeds but now additionally Upload Speeds.
In the overall assessment, EE shows the best speeds both for downloads and uploads. In urban areas, Vodafone ranks second in the download speed metrics, closely followed by Three and O2. In the examination of upload speeds in urban areas, Three scores second best, followed by O2 and then Vodafone.
In non-urban areas, O2 takes the lead in the upload speeds, with EE following on the second rank. In contrast, EE delivers the best download, followed by O2, Three and Vodafone in this ranking order.
NO DEGRADATIONS IN THE NETWORKS OF EE AND O2, ONLY MINOR ANOMALIES AT VODAFONE AND THREE FROM EARLY JUNE TO MID-NOVEMBER 2019
In the networks of EE and O2, we could not identify any anomalies during the 24 weeks under consideration (from early June to mid-November 2019). In the Vodafone network, we observed one day with degradations and in the Three network a total of three days. Considering the long observation period of almost half a year, these are still very decent results, representing a high degree of reliability in the UK‘s mobile networks.
“EE TAKES THE LEAD IN THE CROWD EVALUATION, AHEAD OF O2. VODAFONE COMES IN THIRD, AND THREE RANKS FOURTH.”
“CROWD RESULTS AT A GLANCE
In the crowd-based score, EE takes the lead, ahead of O2. Vodafone comes in third, only slightly behind O2. Three ranks fourth with a distinct gap towards Vodafone. All four UK operators achieve a good score for voice and data coverage, with EE also scoring well for 4G coverage. Three falls significantly behind the competition when it comes to 4G coverage, but also Vodafone and O2 show room for improvement there. In urban areas, Vodafone ranks second behind EE in download speeds, and Three second best in upload speeds. In non-urban areas, O2 takes the lead in the upload category. EE and O2 showed no anomalies in the observation period. For Vodafone, we identified one day with anomalies, and for Three three days with anomalies.”
LONDON
Traditionally, umlaut and connect take a closer look at the UK‘s capital to see how the operators cover this lively centre of business, politics and culture.
Greater London is by far the most densely populated area in the UK and also a vibrant business capital. This also makes the nation‘s capital an especially demanding terrain for deploying and maintaining a mobile network. For this reason, we regularly take a closer look to see how the performance in the capital compares to the rest of the United Kingdom.
So, as in the years before, we have filtered the results of the drive tests and walk tests as well as the crowd results obtained in the London area from the nationwide values. As the city scores neither contain the results of the drive tests conducted in the smaller towns or on the connecting roads nor the walk test results from the trains, we have adapted the maximum achievable points accordingly.
EE LEADS IN LONDON TOO, VODAFONE RANKS SECOND AND PERFORMS SLIGHTLY BETTER IN THE CAPITAL THAN NATIONWIDE
The overall ranking in the London area is the same as in the nationwide assessment. EE leads the field in the capital, showing stronger voice results compared to the evaluation for the whole United Kingdom. In the walk tests conducted in London, the largest UK operator even achieves a 100 percent of the possible points for its voice results. However, in the data walk tests, EE scores a little weaker in the London area than in the nationwide average – which might be explained with the higher demand put on the network by the particularly dense distribution of customers.
Vodafone ranks second and performs all in all on the same level as nationwide. But as already observed for EE, also Vodafone‘s data walk test results fall a little behind the score achieved in the nationwide assessment.
O2 SHOWS ABOUT THE SAME PERFORMANCE IN THE CAPITAL AS NATIONWIDE, THREE FALLS BEHIND IN LONDON DATA RESULTS
The third-placed O2 achieves slightly better voice results than in the average determined for the whole UK. In particular, its voice walk test results are a little better, its voice drive test results a little weaker than all over the nation. O2‘s data results are all in all on the same level as nationwide. Three‘s voice score is on a comparable level than all over the UK. However, the score obtained for the data measurements is surprisingly low in London, compared to the rest of the country. This may once again indicate the heavy stress that millions of Londoners and their visitors put on the mobile networks.
“LONDON RESULTS AT A GLANCE
As in the nationwide assessment, EE is also the winner in London. Compared to the results for the whole UK, EE scores a little better in the voice discipline, but falls somewhat behind in the data walk tests. Vodafone performs overall on the same level as nationwide, but also loses some score points in the data walk tests. The third-placed O2 achieves a slightly better voice score than in the whole UK, it‘s data results are all in all on the same level as nationwide. Three‘s voice results are comparable to the result for the whole country, but its data score for London is distinctly lower than in the rest of the UK.”
As interesting as the focus on the densely populated London area is, the inhabitants of other large UK cities and the capitals of the other nations besides England have their own perspective on network performance and availability.
In order to also provide valuable insights for their inhabitants, we have additionally analysed the performances of the four operators in nine large UK cities – specifically Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield.
When comparing the individual results, it must however be taken into account that we did non conduct walk tests in Belfast and Edinburgh – and thus have adapter the amount of maximum obtainable points accordingly.
SAME RANKING AS NATIONWIDE IN BELFAST, CARDIFF, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW AND SHEFFIELD: EE LEADS, VODAFONE RANKS SECOND
The same ranking as in the nationwide assessment can be seen in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Sheffield. In these cities, EE is the leader, followed by Vodafone. O2 ranks third, and Three last. In Cardiff, the two top contenders are quite close together – only separated by one point each in the voice and in the data category. In Edinburgh, the still third-placed O2 comes comparably close to the second-placed Vodafone. In contrast, the ranking is quite distinct in Belfast, Glasgow and Sheffield.
VODAFONE ON PAR WITH EE IN BIRMINGHAM, AND LEADING IN BRISTOL, LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER
In Birmingham, Vodafone manages to achieve the same overall score as the UK-wide winner EE, showing a particularly strong performance in the data discipline. In Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester, Vodafone turns out to be a local champion – again due to very strong results in the data discipline. O2 shows particularly strong results in Sheffield, while Three scores distinctly above its nationwide average in the cities of Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester.