Mobile Network Comparison

We’ve recently been writing quite a bit about Ofcom’s 4G spectrum auction that will be held soon. Basically, Ofcom will sell off chunks of spectrum to whichever mobile network bids the most. As 4G is already a big buzzword and the future of telecommunications lies in high speed wireless access, Orange, O₂, Vodafone and the rest are likely to break the bank to ensure they get a decent portion. Despite their best efforts to keep costs down, the fact they are bidding against their direct commercial competitors means that Ofcom is due a big payday soon. This is claimed to be a good thing for the British public.

But perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned from the way the 3G spectrum was sold off here in the UK and elsewhere? Unlike here, in Sweden the 3G licenses were given away to the mobile companies absolutely free by their telecoms authority. Safeguards were put in place to ensure that the 3G infrastructure would cover the whole population, not just the lucrative densely-populated urban areas and that the successful companies actual had the will and means to install the masts and other hardware.

The idea was by saving money on an expensive bidding process, the telecoms companies could instead spend their cash on things that benefited them and their customers – advertising and installing the infrastructure. Largely because of this, 3G services have been much more commercially successful and more widely-adopted in Sweden than in the UK. As for the lost funds from giving away the radio spectrum to mobile networks free? Well, consumers pay tax on their phone bills which meant that the Swedish government was able to recoup much more money than they would have received for a one-off license.

If only Ofcom could be so thoughtful about the 4G spectrum sale here in the UK…

Continue Reading

Giffgaff launched a massive “Giffgaff goodies” prize giveaway last week. The competition is set to run for six weeks and there are £20,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. Prizes include £1,500 worth of high street vouchers and thousands of smaller prizes that were all suggested by the Giffgaff community.

The idea to run a competition like this originated in the core Giffgaff principles of mutuality and not spending money on advertising so that customers get better value. In this way, users enter the competition by helping out Giffgaff in some way and, in return, are rewarded with prizes. Secondly, by getting their members to help out in marketing, Giffgaff make massive savings that they, in turn, pass back to their users.

The first weekly challenge is really simple to enter. All members need to do is get someone to order a free Giffgaff SIM card from them and they will automatically get entered into that round. The person who orders the SIM gets £5 free credit and if they win this week’s challenge they’ll get £1,500 of Currys vouchers or one of several other prizes.

If you’re already a Giffgaff customer, get involved today. The first challenge closes at midnight tonight but the giveaway is running until 24 August 2011 so you can easily sign up to Giffgaff and get a chance to win big!

Continue Reading

We’ve always provided comprehensive 2G and 3G mobile coverage comparisons for all the UK’s networks but there’s no independent way to know how accurate they are. We have to rely on the data the networks provide us and the coverage maps they produce. Because so many people rely on data-hungry smartphones these days, a strong 3G signal is essential for internet browsing. And with more and more people ditching their landlines, 2G coverage is important in even the remotest areas.

Most mobile phone users feel that the coverage maps the mobile networks publish are inaccurate and even O₂‘s chief technology officer Nigel Purdy agrees that the current coverage checkers which rely on predictive modelling are not entirely accurate. Representatives from 3 also agree with Phil Sheppard, their director of network strategy saying “There is no common standard for measuring coverage and some operators tend to grossly exaggerate.” An Ofcom report also stated that “More information on coverage is required, and this should be in a standardised format enabling comparison between operator services … Whilst postcode-based checkers go some way to this, their accuracy is limited to the point at which they have limited value“.

As such, the BBC have taken it upon themselves to conduct a major survey into the true picture of mobile phone coverage in the UK. This ambitious project has been made possible by using the idea of crowdsourcing it. By collating data from thousands of smartphone users all over the UK, the BBC hope to be able to get a more accurate map of mobile signal strength across the country.

Helping out with the project is very simple. All you need is a smartphone running Android. Unfortunately iPhone users cannot join in as the mutitasking implementation is too poor and Blackberrys are too underpowered. But if you’re using Android, the app can be downloaded from the Android Market. Once it’s installed, it will collect data automatically in the background. The app is free, uses only small amounts of bandwidth and all your results are completely anonymised. You can also use the app to see what the coverage is like in a certain area. Don’t forget to compare it against our mobile coverage charts and maps.

Download the UK 3G Survey App now or read more about the project.

Continue Reading