If you’ve tried to use your phone to navigate your journey somewhere or check the train timetables recently, you may have hit a brick wall.
Consistently poor mobile signals, regular drop-outs and network outages are among the most common complaints by frustrated UK consumers, according to Which?, with 17 per cent of mobile users reporting issues.
Besides the expectedly shoddy signal in the remotest regions of the country – where mobile phone masts are few and far between, and internet speeds as well as the ability to make calls slow to a crawl – issues are surprisingly common in cities, too.
Mobile internet signal, which allows us to make calls, WhatsApp friends, browse the internet and download emails and TV programmes, is vital for areas where Wi-Fi isn’t available, such as when we’re on the move or away from buildings, which is where free public Wi-Fi signals tend to be offered.
Rural coverage has long been pretty poor: just 69 per cent of rural areas are covered by all four big mobile network providers, according to telecoms regulator Ofcom. But due to a confluence of different factors, the mobile phone blackspots that have long blighted the countryside are starting to hit cities, too.
“Our abysmal mobile speeds in the UK, especially compared to Europe, are because we’re not upgrading our telecom infrastructure to keep up with more devices and users,” said Andy Aitken, co-founder and chief executive of Honest, a disruptor mobile phone network. “That’s also why 5G isn’t living up to the hype,” he added.
Capacity is being squeezed, and networks tend to prioritise voice calls over internet data because they’re seen as a more important way of keeping in touch – you can report crimes or call for ambulances using phone calls, but often can’t do so over the internet.
The data belie the lived experience of frustrated mobile customers. “While the evidence suggests that connectivity is stable, and only set to get better, it may be that consumers are becoming more aware of signal issues as phones become ever more essential and integrated into our everyday lives,” said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.
Doku points to Ofcom’s latest Connections Nations report, which was published this year. It shows that 93 per cent of the UK landmass is predicted to have good outdoor 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator – which would include nearly all premises in the UK. 5G is at a similar level: 92 per cent of premises across the UK can access the faster mobile internet services.
And while that may seem impressive, it also suggests that around 10 per cent of the country is not covered – at a time when EE, Vodafone and Three have all switched off their slower 3G networks.
Removing 3G takes away further capacity that isn’t being fully replaced by 4G and 5G at the same pace as 3G is being removed. Virgin Media O2 will be the last to pull the plug on its 3G offering, most likely at the end of the year, believes Sam Jackman, chief development officer at Shared Access, a mobile connectivity company.
While the actual speeds vary, 3G download speeds typically range between 3 and 6 megabytes per second (Mbps), compared to between 20 and 40-odd Mbps for 4G, and 200 Mbps for 5G.
A single song in MP3 format could be around 3MB, meaning downloading it on 5G would be far faster than other predecessor connections. That astronomical speed increase is just the start, though: in theory, 5G can handle downloads at speeds of up to 10,000 Mbps.
Three G, 4G and 5G mobile signals operate differently, according to Aitken. “Even if that 3G transmitter is replaced with a 4G or 5G one, it will likely use different frequencies which bounce around buildings and obstacles in different ways,” he said. Often, those 4G and 5G signals travel worse in modern buildings.
Beyond that, Jackman explains that there’s a gulf in performance, depending on whether you want to connect indoors or outdoors. “Outdoor networks are the main focus of the mobile network operators (MNOs), while indoor connectivity isn’t something the mobile network operators want to fund,” he said.
“And that’s because the MNOs are in a price war for customers and don’t make large profits, so it doesn’t make economic sense for them to keep spending money improving networks when they make less or the same revenue from consumers.” Mobile network operators make the assumption that indoor connectivity is covered by Wi-Fi signals.
Aitken also points out that our regulatory system can dissuade network operators from installing new infrastructure, even if they can find the budget and will to do so. “In China, they can put up 50m tall masts easily,” he said. “Planning regulations in the UK make that difficult, which makes a huge difference in how effectively 5G can be rolled out.”
Most people want mobile data in built-up areas near major populations, but they don’t want the unsightly masts that help bring it to us. And rental prices for the land upon which those masts are positioned is dropping, meaning more landowners are taking mobile network operators to court to try and eke out higher prices.
Even when masts are approved, the former Conservative government’s blacklisting of Chinese manufacturer Huawei over security concerns means we’re struggling as a country to find the right equipment to power the 5G revolution.
And the indoor-outdoor gap in connectivity is exacerbated by the way buildings are constructed nowadays. “New buildings use more energy efficient materials which effectively block the outdoor mobile signals from entering the building,” explained Jackman. “This means poor, or non-existent, indoor mobile coverage.”
There are ways around that, but it requires the building owner to agree a contract with a neutral host who can install a Distributed Antenna System to deliver all four UK mobile networks inside the building. And at a time when budgets are constrained, many businesses don’t see the need to do so.
It all means that mobile signals appear to be getting worse, even as coverage expands. The UK recently fell from 44th to 51st in the world for mobile connectivity, according to one survey. That makes picking the right provider a must-do – which is why Uswitch’s Doku suggests doing your research before buying into a long-term contract.
“If you’re looking to take out a new phone contract and are concerned about signal, the best thing to do is use the coverage checkers on providers’ or Ofcom’s websites.
“As well as putting in your home postcode, check other areas you frequent such as place of work, commuting routes and where you go out to ensure you will have sufficient signal.”