In a report that has been released by Ofcom, Vodafone has been ranked last for the quality of call for mobile phone users in rural areas.
Ofcom used independent firm RootMetrics to measure network performance on mobile phones. The results were based on the quality of calls in areas which had coverage and the number of calls that failed to connect or cut out unexpectedly.
The study that was conducted resulted in network providers EE, O2, Three and Vodafone going head-to-head.
The overall results showed that EE provided the best service across the UK whilst O2 provided the best service within cities.
Overall Results:
- 97% of all calls on the EE network were successfully connected.
- 95.3% on O2,
- 94.5% on Three,
- 92.6% on Vodafone.
The results for calls made in rural areas were:
- 93.7% on the EE network were successfully completed.
- 87.4% on O2,
- 86% on Three,
- 79.9% on Vodafone.
A very unsurprising result was that more consumers in urban areas were happier with their mobile phone service that those in rural areas.
Ernest Doku, from uSwitch believes that everyone should now be able to get mobile reception, no matter where they are in the UK.
Doku stated, “In this day and age, we should all be able to get mobile reception, whether we’re in the heart of the city or out in the sticks. While it’s good to see that the majority living in cities are satisfied with their networks, this doesn’t help me if I’m in a field, in rural Wales, with a broken leg and unable to call for help.”
All four network providers have agreed to work with Ofcom to develop a common methodology for measuring the rates of successful mobile phone calls.
Vodafone have responded to the results and believe that the results do not show a fair reflection as they are now outdated.
A Vodafone spokeswoman stated, “The previously published RootMetric report is based on network measurements taken between June and December last year which were disproved by more up-to-date findings in spring this year.”
Do you have to make regular phone calls in rural areas? Are you happy with the quality of calls that you make/receive from your network provider?
