Seven million more people had access to a 4G connection in the second half of 2016
Around 54 million people in Britain now have access to a 4G connection across all four major network operators compared to 47 million at the end of 2015.
This is according to mobile analytics company RootMetrics, the firm collected 805,277 samples from all over the UK from July to December 2016. It also tested 847 indoor locations with the UK’s four biggest networks EE, Vodafone, Three and O2.
The report also found signal reliability is improving across the country, levels have increased by 8 per cent meaning networks are providing more dependable service compared to the first half of 2016.
EE dominance
EE bagged awards across RootMetrics’ RootScore Award categories: overall, reliability, speed, data, text and call. It won best overall network in all countries in the UK. This is the second consecutive time EE has achieved this.
Other operators did not earn any RootScore Awards in the first half of 2016, but put up more of a fight in the second half. In Wales, Three and EE shared the network reliability award, while in Scotland Vodafone and EE shared both the text and call awards. In Northern Irelands EE, O2 and Vodafone shared the call and text awards.
RootMetrics general manager of Europe Scott Stonham said: “Consumer demand for data-heavy services – such as video and music streaming – is exploding. As consumers hunt for the strongest performance they can afford, mobile operators are making investments to make sure they keep up.”
