EE Named Best Mobile Operator By RootMetrics, While Vodafone Struggles

EE has been named the UK’s best performing mobile network by research firm RootMetrics, which measured the performance of all four major operators in what it says is the most comprehensive study of mobile network coverage ever undertaken in this country.

Testers used off-the-shelf mobile equipment to test each network outdoors, indoors and while driving, and covered 23,000 miles to collect 840,000 samples – roughly one per every hundred mobile contracts in the UK.

EE earned an overall score of 84.6 on RootMetrics’ index, which tests for factors such as reliability, speed and data, with the operator finishing first or joint first in every single category. Three finished second with 73.5, O2 third with 66.5 and Vodafone in last place, demonstrating poor network reliability across the UK.

Reliability and speed

“These results give UK consumers and businesses the most accurate view of mobile performance in the UK that has ever been made available,” said RootMetrics CEO and President Bill Moore. “From nation to neighbourhood, people now have access to data showing them the best network in their area.”

EE’s investment in 4G was cited as one of the reasons for its strong performance, with the operator leading the way in the Internet category with a score of 81. Three, which is offering 4G to its customers at no extra charge, was second with 86.3 and O2 was third qith 48.4 and Vodafone last with 30.2

All four major operators performed well in the text category, with EE again first, while the operator was also the leader of the call category with 86.3. EE was also named the UK’s most reliable network with a score of 78.7 percent, and Vodafone the least reliable with 40.2 percent. EE’s 4G investment once again appeared to pay dividends in the speed category as it was named the fastest network with 102.4 and Three the slowest with 69.

National inequalities

RootMetrics said its findings demonstrated hugely varying levels of service across the UK, something which is evident in the breakdowns for each of the four nations. EE was named the overall best network in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, while it shared the honour with Three in Wales, however some operators performed so poorly on reliability they didn’t even register a score in some countries.

EE was the most reliable network in England with a score of 74.1, ahead of Three, O2 and Vodafone, which achieved just 27.4. Meanwhile Three secured top spot in Northern Ireland with 82.7, EE was second with 82.3 percent, while O2 and Vodafone lagged behind with just 51.3 and 37.7.

However while Three and EE scored 82.7 and 82.3 in Wales, O2 and Vodafone didn’t register a ranking at all because they were below the minimum performance threshold. Vodafone was also below the threshold in Scotland, where EE was deemed to be the most reliable. EE was the fastest network in all four countries, with no operator scoring below 60.

Don’t write off Vodafone

Unsuprisingly Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE, was quite pleased with the findings.

“Today’s results show that the EE network gives customers everywhere in the UK the best mobile experience,” he said. “This is down to our ongoing investment in introducing 4G, increasing 3G capacity and upgrading 2G, while also spending hundreds of millions on phone call quality. We encourage the most rigorous independent testing of mobile networks in the UK, and strive to set new standards in performance and reliability.”

Analysts agree that EE’s investment in its network is one of the reasons behind its strong showing, but also suggest that despite dismal results, there is every chance Vodafone will do better in future studies.

“While Vodafone doesn’t score so well in comparison, they shouldn’t be written off. They too have ambitious plans for network upgrades which are being delivered through ‘Project Spring’,” explained Matthew Howett, telecoms regulation analyst at Ovum. “Some of the early results of this are probably not being captured in this first ranking from RootMetrics. What’s clear from this snapshot is that for the rest of the industry to close the gap on EE in terms of network speeds and availability it’s not going to come without a struggle.”

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