Ofcom has launched what it is calling a single-stop shop for mobile
coverage, but unless the caution about being under continual development means
some serious improvements are on the way it may actually annoy more people than
it helps.
The new checker is at www.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage and for the
few areas where are well versed in mobile coverage the estimates appear very
overly optimistic. There also appear to be some usability issues across various
browsers which will hopefully be fixed very quickly. There is a feedback option
to help Ofcom improve the information which is based on provider data with
Ofcom applying its own metrics to this data to arrive at coverage information
for different areas.
As a site that is investing considerable time and effort into mapping fixed
line broadband services and was a pioneer in broadband speed testing many years
ago and is still innovating in that sphere the fact that Ofcom has launched
this new mobile checker with no obvious API access system for third parties to
perform wider analysis or develop innovative new visualisation models is
disappointing. There is also a much wider question over what might Ofcom be
about to do in the fixed line market and how this may skew the market against
independent sites like ourselves who do so much more than just like the largest
ten providers.
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The problem is my area I can get 4G, but last night it was around 1mb (on GiffGaff/O2) – so the data is correct I can get 4G – the reality is it’s very poor 4G.
and the feedback form does not allow you to tell them you have 3g coverage but not 4g
In this area (TD14) it’s more useful than the individual operators maps which are supremely optimistic. All of them seem based on computer projections rather than actual surveys. Only reliable methods are asking around or buying a £10 unlocked phone and seeing what works best
‘Overly optimistic’ is certainly the term when it comes to O2’s indoor voice call predictions.
Around here, it’s apparently perfect for miles and miles, when in reality it involves a one mile drive and an outdoor location.
Seems a pretty low quality tool. Lots of browser compatibility issues, it’s very buggy and when it occasionally works it’s very very slow.
Its good to see the contours and high points marked on the map but masts are missing and the site is slow at the moment.
Just looked up our local not-spots, where coverage is absolutely zilch;
According to OffToss, everything in the garden is, err, green!
The feedback form is pathetic. The map is utter rubbish. Supposedly I can get good 4G indoors and out. I’m actually in lucky to get voice.
They’ve obviously not considered colour blindness when choosing the colours to represent different quality coverage. This is nothing new as all providers I’ve checked are equally as bad.
This map is totally lie! I couldn’t get 3G sometimes! no 4G at all. Useless ofcom map.
This is even worse than EE’s map 9as they try to get 98% 4G by the end of the year).
total crap and a complete waste of time.
I can find places near me where you have a job to get even 2G (just a whiff if you wave the phone in the air but unusable) yet the map says total 3G coverage.
What incompetent arse was in charge of this??
Kebabselector and others
Giffgaff are not paying for enough total capacity before it even gets to O2 network (the bandwidth provider) so avg speeds on giffgaff range form 0.2-1mb/s on 3g or 4G (with amusing 12-19mb/s upload when doing 0.4-1mb/s down on 4G) giffgaff is removing the unlimited 3G goodybags soon so speeds should improve over the next 5 months as people leave (Feb 12th is the last day any one will have an unlimited 3G goodybag @ £20 after that its a High speed cap at 6gb to 256kbs @£20)
3g unlimited goodybags at £15 will be gone next month
is 3 included yet as they like to lie a lot about 3g and 4G coverage (outdoor coverage means 0 signal most of the time) ofcom even tested 4g in locations where they said they had coverage but they did not have any coverage
Rubbish! I find other site such a cellmapper opensignal etc where everyone can share the “proper signal”