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Ever tried sending a Whatsapp in Soho, or loading maps in Covent Garden? Not so easy, is it?
But now there might be a way to avoid being confronted with the loading wheel of doom when visiting central London. A new study has revealed exactly which mobile networks in the centre of town have the fastest and the slowest internet download speeds. And the answer might not be what you’d expect.
The research saw mobile data firm PolicyTracker carry out tens of thousands of mobile connection speed tests across the UK earlier this year. They shared their findings from the capital with London Centric, which reported on the outcome.
According London Centric’s report, a cheaper network might be your best bet for fast connection in the city.
First, we need to explain how it works. In Britain there are four ‘real’ phone network operators: Vodafone, EE, O2, and Three. These operators then lease their spare capacity to ‘virtual’ networks, which piggyback off their signal, and are usually cheaper. These are the providers like Lebara (Vodafone), iD Mobile (Three), Giffgaff (O2) and Lycamobile (EE).
In the tests, PolicyTracker found that Lebara was able to download data quicker than its parent network Vodafone, while charging 70 percent less. Lycamobile also outperformed its parent network EE, also with much cheaper prices. Out of all the parent and virtual networks, Three had the overall fastest download speed, followed by Lebara and then iD.
However, when it came to simply getting signal, the parent networks mostly performed better. Vodafone and EE had the lowest proportion of failed speed tests (when they couldn’t connect to any signal), while the highest proportion of failed tests went to Three, followed by Lebara.
This could all change soon, though, because Three and Vodafone are in the middle of merging their networks. Plus, when a new type of 5G, called 5G standalone, becomes available, the OG networks could become faster again, as the virtual providers won’t have access to the technology.
Overall, we think we’ll keep our money. PolicyTracker researcher Cameron Hill told London Centric: ‘Most users wouldn't notice a difference in central London. And really [a virtual network] is better value.’
Why is London’s phone signal so bad right now?
The east London area that has the worst phone signal in the capital.
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