Tag: coverage
There’s EE 4G now available on more than 322,000 miles of roads in Great Britain. It’s thanks to 160 new EE 4G sites built this year and a general expansion in the coverage. EE have also extended coverage of UK national parks, with more than two thirds of …
NASA have selected Nokia to setup an actual mobile phone network on the Moon. Key points involve reducing power, size and cost whilst delivering reliable lunar surface communications with high data rates. As part of a potential future sustainable human presence on the Moon, a super-compact, low-power, space-hardened, …
My son and I headed to Wembley a year ago and, while I was in the area, I decided to check out the new 5G connection that had popped up on my phone. Getting 5G back then was a hit-and-miss affair, and it was really only to be …
With 5G masts being thrown up at a rapid rate and concerns over signal or safety, there’s always been a keen interest in where local mobile masts actually are. Back in 2011 we started looking into this, and back then the mobile networks were reporting where all their …
After driving over 22,000 miles, performing over 537,000 tests in 750 places, the RootMetrics results are in. EE has been named the number one network for 5G in the UK and the UK’s best network for the seventh year running. The network launched their 5G network in May …
The Peak District is, without doubt, a beautiful place. However, getting a phone signal in such a scenic and protected area is pretty tricky. However, with to government pushing for mobile networks to work together more, 4G mobile coverage in rural Longnor is now available via Vodafone. As …
5G has been available here in the UK for a whole year! EE now have 80 large cities and towns across bathed in 5G, with the highest 5G availability compared to all other 5G networks. YouTube is the most popular app for their customers – 5G users are …
The guys at EE have flicked the switch so that 21 more 5G destinations are now available. It brings the total EE 5G locations to 71, which is more than any other operator. Areas benefitting include Rugeley, which is just up the road from where I’m sat, plus …
We could very soon see more masts and much higher ones too. It comes as the government ends a consultation into 5G planning restrictions, with proposals including the deployment of radio equipment and strengthening existing masts without approval. It also looks at adding more masts nearer to highways …
A figure you may not see in many headlines is the fact that just 66% of the UK landmass has 4G coverage from all four mobile operators. With all this talk about 5G, it’s surprising that we’ve not got a higher 4G coverage. Of course, the operative term …
The oldest underground system in the world has only very recently had WiFi installed. It means that the majority of mobile users can, via their network provider, hook into a free WiFi connection as they travel under London on the Tube. Trouble is, it only works on the …
I spent 16 long years of my life working in Stoke-on-Trent. It was definitely an experience. They love their tea and say things like, “I’m goin’ shop Duck” or “You wanna brew Duck?” Then there’s oatcakes.. oh my days, I could tell you about the oatcakes. You have …
Afternoon all, and welcome to the weekend. If you’re looking to switch networks, a new virtual operator called
It’s up to you, New York, New York. At least, it will be on August 7th. That’s when the new Samsung Galaxy Note will be launched and, as you can no doubt see by the invite, there’ll be the usual stylus / S Pen. There’s rumours, and they …
A partnership with streaming gaming provider “Hatch”, 5G roll-out plans and pricing. It’s all here from Vodafone today. They’ve also announced two 5G-ready handsets – the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and Xiaomi Mi MIX 3. No Huawei 5G phones. The pricing, according to Voda, is the same as …
Vodafone recently announced their 5G go-live date of July 3rd, but today, in a briefing to press, EE gave announced their intention to switch everything on next Thursday. It means that EE will provide the UK’s first full 5G service, even if there’s really nobody using it just …
The boys from Vodafone have recently tried some new and interesting ways to expand their coverage. First we saw their mini 4G masts and then they went ahead and put a mast inside a manhole. Now they’re adding 4G to phone boxes, and let’s be honest – I …
When 5G really starts rolling, you’re going to see a growth in smaller masts which cover high-usage areas. Because of this, and the need to also remove the not-spots of existing 4G coverage, BT want operators to have access to council-owned “street furniture”, such as lamp posts and …
Right, we’ve landed. We’re back in Barcelona for … well, we’ve lost count. We’ve been here every year since the Mobile World Congress arrived here in Barcelona so, that’s a long time. I think I had hair when this all first started. Today it’s Sunday, and gone are …
So, a few things have happened so far today. First, I kinda realised that, for the first time in a decade, I won’t be able to make it to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Gutted isn’t the word. In years gone by I’ve asked you guys for donations, …
If you’re looking to grow your mobile coverage you’d traditionally think of large mobile masts, right? We have a love / hate relationship with these things, and our mast finder article has been inundated with people trying to find out where their most local mast is. Sadly, there’s …
In the last year EE have successfully filled in some 12,000 square kilometres of mobile not-spots. That works out 4633 square miles, which is almost the size of Connecticut (4,845) in the USA. That’s basically all of Devon and all of Norfolk plus some change. This has all …
Every time I check the site stats, there’s one post in particular which is always massively popular. This mast finder article from 2011 is causing the most amount of interest. It’s understandable really. People obviously have coverage maps from their network, but finding out how close masts are is …
Yes, the moon. The actual moon. Methinks they’re going to need a bigger coverage map. They’ll be using “Ultra Compact Network” kit, the lightest ever developed. It weighs less than a bag of sugar. In a partnership with Nokia, the Vodafone 4G network will enable the first live-streaming …
EE must be celebrating this morning after being placed top in all six mobile performance categories by real-world network testers RootMetrics. Their initial head-start on 4G deployment, along with a sizeable set of frequency bands and a push to hit big coverage numbers, has seen the BT-owned company …
Getting coverage into rural areas is a constant challenge for the networks. We’ve seen EE using an innovative home-broadband solution for rural homes and Vodafone have their Sure Signal kit plus new mini masts. However, the problem with planning permission and fierce opposition to unsightly large masts in …
Filling in those problem signal areas is easier said than done for a lot of networks. The restrictive planning legislation is a massive blocker, but then you also have to consider power, backhaul and buying or renting the land to put the mast onto. All that, plus the …
If you read my epic explanation about how cable broadband works then you may have noticed that, like a lot of people, my phone, the internet router and the TV is all in the corner of the house. In the “old days” the smiley BT engineer would instead …
Yesterday things weren’t going so well for EE. They had problems routing calls to other networks all day and it seemed to be causing quite a bit of grief for their customers. They can, however, boast about their coverage. They’re aiming for 95% 4G coverage by 2020, and …
There’s long been discussion about the share each network has of the mobile spectrum. Three UK, among others, have also started a campaign to stop one or two networks from being able to grab the larger slices. Today Ofcom have revealed that they will indeed put a cap …
EE have become the first network to offer customers dedicated Welsh customer service support in their language. Customers will be able to request a call from a Welsh speaking adviser to help with any issues they may have and help resolve with ease. Marc Allera, EE CEO, states… …
I work in Stoke. It gets a bad reputation but there’s some very friendly people there and they do oatcakes. Lovely oatcakes. There’s even a oatcake boat on the canal which sells them. Stick some bacon and eggs in one of those, wrap it up – boom! Anyhow, …
My first ever mobile phone was connected to Orange. I stayed as a customer all through the transitional phase as T-Mobile and Orange joined forces to eventually become EE. The new brand seems to have woven its way into our subconsciousness rather quickly, and they have pushed hard …
21/02/2020 – The best solution to finding your local mast is now located within this recently updated article. A lot has changed over the years, and this is now the best place to go. This topic seems to pop up time and time again. Our original story from …
For quite a number of years now we’ve been lucky enough to head out to Barcelona. We go armed with ultra-portable gadgets and good running shoes. The event, held in the city since 2006, is basically where all the big mobile companies such as LG, Huawei, Sony and …
We all tend to have a bit of a whinge regarding coverage. Indeed, I’ve mentioned that even outside network stores in cities you can struggle to get a decent signal. However, when disaster strikes then getting a connection to the outside world is even more important. In recent …
EE have a big and powerful network. They’re also owned by a big and powerful telecoms provider – BT. Both EE and BT are involved and heavily invested in quad-play, which basically means supplying TV, home broadband, home phone and mobile. So, with a strong competitor like Sky …
According to P3 (umm?) Vodafone have got the best network for voice in the UK. Not only that but they’ve got the best network in London and the most improved network in the UK too. Vodafone tell me that they’ve worked hard to improve their network and they’ve …
This morning OpenSignal have published a new “State of LTE” report. You can find their February one here but today the report, which focuses on the speed and availability of 4G networks around the world, gives us a number of highlights. First, the fastest 4G countries in the …
For me it’s not too surprising. While networks concentrate on pushing out 4G networks, they do so from existing masts, so the actual coverage doesn’t really change a great deal. Sure, you could argue that the different frequencies used by some networks for their 4G signals has improved …
