Connectivity / New survey reveals astonishing differences in mobile phone download speeds
Virgin Media O2 well ahead of its two rivals in Lerwick and surrounding areas
MOBILE download speeds in and around Lerwick provided by the Virgin Media O2 network are significantly faster than those by the company’s two rivals.
Speeds provided by VodafoneThree and EE are trailing far behind at most of the 20 locations measured in a survey by Gulberwick resident Mark Ockendon and shared with Shetland News.
These results come just days ahead of another meeting of the UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee this week as part of its digital connectivity inquiry.
For years residents in Shetland’s ‘central belt’ have been struggling with intermittent connections and periods of no data service, despite coverage maps from major networks all showing “good 4G signal indoors and out” across town.
Ockendon, who has a background in auditing, decided to investigate these claims for himself and has now come up with some surprising results.
At 17 of the 20 locations measured, from Gulberwick to Gremista and many town centre locations in between, Virgin Media O2 came out top with download speed of between around 30 Mbps to as much as 74 Mbps near Mareel.
Vodafone was best at just two locations (Gremista UHI and Staney Hill) while EE provided the best service at Shetland Golf Club.
There were several locations where some of the network providers offered no or just a very slow connection speed.
Please have a close inspection of the map below for measurements at individual locations.
The data displayed is based on two measurements taken at every location on separate days last month, taken outside in an unobstructed area and on non-cruise ship days.
Ockendon said: “The results showed clear difference between providers. Surprisingly, Vodafone – which was thought to have the best coverage – performed worst in Lerwick.
“When approached in the past, mobile phone companies have continued to deny any issues with their signal quality.”
He added that he hopes the survey will help people make informed decisions about which network is best for them.
“This data is something the mobile phone companies would rather wasn’t published,” he said.
All three providers were contacted at the start of the week to allow them to provide detailed responses to the findings.
While all three acknowledged receipt of Shetland News contacting them, and despite several reminders, only Vodafone and EE/BT responded.
A spokesperson for Vodafone said: “We’re continuously looking at ways to improve our network to our customers across Shetland.
“We recently introduced technology to a number of local masts meaning Vodafone and Three customers can now connect to the best available coverage, at no extra cost.
“We’re also currently working to boost existing coverage levels in and around Lerwick.”
They added: “As part of our ongoing UK-wide £11 billion investment programme, we’re taking steps to improve long-term resilience for Shetland and the surrounding isles, securing capacity on alternative routes and carrying out a feasibility study into deploying our own subsea cable to Shetland.”
An EE spokesperson meanwhile said its local network will be upgraded within weeks.
“We’re aware that demand on our network in the Lerwick area can impact performance for our customers at peak times,” they said.
“We’re investing to address this, with a network upgrade planned that will bring 5G and more than double existing 4G capability.
“This work is progressing and expected to be ready in the coming weeks, which will significantly improve the experience for customers in the Lerwick area once complete.”
Ockendon said that he felt his survey was “fairly conclusive” and added that extending the research to other parts of Shetland would require some external funding.
“For Lerwick residents at least, this provides some real concrete evidence about the mobile service, and hopefully helps people avoid frustration in the future.”
Note:
There are three mobile phone networks in the UK. All other companies are Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) that use one of these three underlying networks.
They are:
- Virgin Media O2 network: Giffgaff, O2, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile.
- EE/BT Group: 1p mobile, BT mobile, Ecotalk, EE, IQ mobile, Lyca (moved from O2 to EE in June 2023), Mozillion, Plusnet mobile (now closed), RWG Mobile (now closed), Spusu, Talk Home Mobile, Utility warehouse, Your Co-op (aka The Co-op Mobile).
- VodafoneThree: ASDA mobile (moved from EE to Vodafone in March 2021), Freedompop, Honest mobile, iD mobile, Lebara, Rewild Mobile, Smarty, Superdrug mobile, Talkmobile, Three, Vodafone, Voxi.
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