VoLTE Investment Sees EE Tighten Grip on Mobile Performance, According to RootMetrics National Report

LONDON, February 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Data from RootMetrics®, the independent source for real-world mobile performance comparison, reveals that EE strengthened its position as market leader in mobile network performance across the UK in the second half of 2017. In the second half of 2017, EE claims top honours in all six mobile performance categories measured by RootMetrics.

Vodafone, a winner of two national awards during the previous testing period, slipped down the rankings, winning no awards in the second half of the year.

O2 remained in last place out of the four major mobile operators as it continued to struggle across most categories of performance. The RootMetrics UK National RootScore Report, however, shows some rays of light for the Telefonica subsidiary - O2's ranking for text performance showed signs of improvement and RootMetrics' analysis suggests that if O2 can improve performance in rural areas, it can significantly improve its ranking at a national level. In addition, O2 provided a strong showing in Northern Ireland testing, with O2 sharing first place with EE, Three, and Vodafone in the categories of overall performance, network reliability, call performance, and it shared first place solely with EE in text performance.

Like O2, Vodafone performed well in Northern Ireland, sharing awards for overall performance, network reliability, and call performance, albeit seeing its performance in the text category fall from first to last in the region. Three on the other hand displayed a particular strength in Wales, ranking first outright for both network reliability and call performance in the "Land of My Fathers".

In the second half of 2017, RootMetrics carried out nearly 708 thousand tests using the Samsung Galaxy S8, travelling more than 22,048 miles to measure performance, as well as visiting 649 indoor locations. The empirical testing covers 100 percent of the UK's population. The six categories measured in RootMetrics' testing are: overall performance; network reliability; network speed; data performance; call performance; and text performance, resulting in the most rigorously scientific and comprehensive view of a consumer's mobile network experience available anywhere.

Scott Stonham, general manager for RootMetrics in Europe, said: "We're starting to see that capital expenditure in the latest network infrastructure, such as EE's investment in VoLTE pays off in the form of improved customer experience. According to IHS Markit research, capex is expected to grow moderately this year, and we will see the foundations being laid for fibre plant and 5G. It will be fascinating to see how the operators balance the creation of the networks of the future and maintaining and improving existing infrastructure."

RootScore Award Summary for the UK, Second Half of 2017 

Following is a summary of RootScore Award winners for the second half of 2017 in the UK. For more details, view the entire report, here.

Overall Performance: EE
Network Reliability: EE
Network Speed: EE
Data Performance: EE
Call Performance: EE&Three (tie)
Text Performance: EE

About RootMetrics®

RootMetrics®, an IHS Markit company, is an independent mobile analytics firm that measures mobile network performance and offers insights into the consumer mobile experience. RootMetrics provides data on mobile network performance to help the networks improve and give consumers an end-to-end look at mobile performance. To ensure that RootMetrics testing reflects real-world mobile usage, testing is conducted based on where, when and how consumers use their smartphones most often.

The methodology for testing RootScores can be found here.

© 2018 RootMetrics. All rights reserved.  

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Kelvin Morgan for RootMetrics
Kelvin.morgan@madano.com
+44-020-7593-4000