Why It Matters
Mobile Signal Strength
Summary
We have measured the strength and signal of the four major network providers in your area.
Definition
Our Mobile Signal Strength metric measures how extensive and robust the coverage from each of the four main providers:
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Three
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O2
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EE
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Vodafone
These four companies own their own masts dotted around the country and rent out their coverage to smaller networks at a fee. These smaller networks known as virtual network operators use the network of one or more of the four main network providers for their operations.
We seek to provide the coverage and strength of the four main network providers in the UK so that one can make an informed decision on which mobile provider to sign up with considering their postcode. The data provided is such that with a single search you can get the mobile signal strength in any postcode for all four main network providers.
Interpretation
Each postcode is given a rating for each provider (Three, O2, EE, Vodafone) of:
- Green (G) - the strongest rating
- Amber (A) - medium
- Red (R) - poor
- Clear (C) - no signal in that area
These ratings are given to each of the following datasets:
| Dataset |
|---|
| Indoor Voice Call Clarity Rating |
| Outdoor Voice Call Clarity Rating |
| Indoor Voice Call Clarity Rating for Postcodes without 4G Coverage |
| Outdoor Voice Call Clarity Rating for Postcodes without 4G Coverage |
| Indoor Mobile Data Rating |
| Outdoor Mobile Data Rating |
| Indoor Enhanced Data Rating (Supporting 3Mbit/s signalling rate) |
| Outdoor Enhanced Data Rating (Supporting 3Mbit/s signalling rate) |
| Indoor Data Rating for Postcodes without 4G Coverage |
| Outdoor Data Rating for Postcodes without 4G Coverage |
Why the metric matters from commercial and residential inhabitants’ perspectives
Information on voice and data signal strength is an important variable in real estate development and patronage cannot be overemphasised. Potential clients and investors tend to move to locations that have good mobile signal strength. The data this metric provides will help inform these individuals or groups because, unsurprisingly, most people like living and working somewhere with good signal, not only for their own sakes but for the sake of the business. Having good mobile signal has the potential to positively impact traditional business models.
Given that there is a growing demand for better mobile signal amongst consumers in both the commercial and residential realms, companies are being pressured to upgrade their telecommunications infrastructure. The transformation of telecoms networks is imperative for innovative business as it allows them to address the changes in customer expectations. Such companies will benefit from this metric as it provides the requisite and accurate data vital to expanding telecoms infrastructure especially to opportunity areas, in doing so saving costs.
The impact of Covid-19 on everyday life has also caused a global paradigm shift in work culture. As such, the availability of strong voice and data signal strength will be towards the top of the list for most house hunters and businesses. With the rise in online learning, remote work and videoconferencing, mobile communication has become the order of the day in helping people adapt to the “new normal”. New home-owners and businesses are therefore likely to patronise homes and offices in areas with very good mobile and voice signal strength.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
General Commentary
The total coverage of the UK is reasonably good. A 2020 Ofcom study, titled Connected Nations, found that 33% of the country’s area did not have complete outdoor 4G coverage from all four network providers, with 9% receiving no 4G coverage at all. However, this did account for 97% of all the country’s premises. For calls and texts this was even better, with 99% of premises covered.
That said, across the country there is quite a large and increasing data divide between cities and more rural areas. Except for the large parks such as Hampstead Heath, most of central London fairs well in both signal and data strength and general coverage. This drops off dramatically into the suburbs and rural areas. Some constituencies receive less than 60% 4G coverage, including Scarborough and Barrow in Furness. At the time of writing, in Scotland only three constituencies receive full 4G coverage from all providers, Wales only one, and in Northern Ireland not a single constituency has full 4G coverage from all four network providers.
Much of the country’s lack of coverage is due to the fact that large swathes of the UK, in Scotland in particular, are unpopulated, therefore it would not be profitable for providers to extend their networks to these areas. To put this into perspective, while 96% and 98% of premises in Scotland are covered for 4G and calls and texts respectively, only 43% and 59% of its geographic area is respectively connected for these.
For many providers, increasing the quality of current coverage is more of a priority than expanding the network, yet for those who do not receive adequate coverage the experience can be uncomfortable. 23% of those who experienced failing signal in the past 3 months felt extremely/quite stressed as a result according to Which?, and 57% of people who had a lack of coverage said they experienced a significant impact because of it, with the most common being that they could not sent or receive important information.
Trivia
It probably comes as no surprise that the world’s first cellular network, NTT, launched in Japan in 1979, offering fully functional mobile calls to 23 districts of Tokyo.
In 1983 the UK brought in its first network, but with modifications to those in other countries meaning that phones that used the British system were not compatible anywhere else in the world. In 1985 the Motorola DynaTac 8000X arrived and was the only commercially available model of mobile phone in the UK. Imported from the USA, the phone was the size and weight of a house brick and cost a whopping £3000 at the time, which equates to almost £10,000 today!
In typical Thatcher style, the large state-run networks popular across the world never made it to the UK but instead smaller competing businesses were encouraged. British Telecom (BT), formerly the General Post Office (GPO), was privatised in 1984 and joined with Securior to make Cellnet, who battled it out with Vodafone for the role of providing the country with coverage. Vodafone eventually won out and became the first mobile network in the UK.