- Leading mobile benchmarking company, umlaut, names Vodafone as London’s best network for 5G.
- Report says Vodafone has fastest 5G, and is most reliable for YouTube, web browsing and downloading files.
- Vodafone is also enhancing 4G coverage to make sure every customer is getting a great connection.
Vodafone is today confirmed as the best 5G network in London, thanks to its commitment to giving customers the fastest speeds and best reliability across the nation’s capital.
A 5G report, by global consultancy and testing company umlaut (formerly P3), found that Vodafone gives customers 99.7% reliability when using YouTube on 5G, and 100% reliability for web browsing. The nearest rival achieved 94.5% reliability for YouTube. Vodafone’s network was also the most reliable for file download and upload tests, and had the highest average download speeds, at 215.2 Mbps. The tests measured 5G from all four UK operators, and covered 55% of the total population of London.
Vodafone’s Consumer Director, Max Taylor, said: “The results from this report show that our customers are getting the best 5G experience and that our investment in our network is really paying off.
“In London, our network is the most reliable, and is delivering on the promise of 5G download speeds. Every day we’re bringing this great 5G experience to more customers around the UK.
“We’re making sure Vodafone is the best place to come for the latest smartphones – a great network, with great benefits, and great value.”
Vodafone has recently launched its Annual Upgrade Promise, which gives customers the opportunity to unbox the latest iPhone every year without upgrade fees. Vodafone is also the only operator that lets customers use 5G when they choose to travel in Europe, giving customers access to 5G in more places than any other network, with 116 places covered today.
As well as investing in 5G, Vodafone is also constantly enhancing 4G coverage to make sure all customers can enjoy great connectivity. Vodafone is using creative ways to add more 4G, including:
- 4G small cells on phone boxes across Edgware, Guildford and Harrow offering 200-metre radius of coverage;
- 4G antennas on the underside of manhole covers in Covent Garden;
- Seven shoebox-sized 4G units attached to telegraph poles, and other street furniture, around Trafalgar Square;
- and indoor coverage in the West 1 Shopping Centre, Bond Street, which is also 5G-ready.
In London, where Vodafone uses Ericsson as its sole network partner, Vodafone’s 5G uses 50MHz of 3.4GHz spectrum. These mid-band airwaves deliver increased download speeds for 5G customers, as well as excellent coverage. Massive MIMO technology (64 x 64) is included on more than 95% of sites, which sets Vodafone’s network apart from its biggest rivals.
Vodafone is also deploying Ericsson Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technology in the 2.1GHz spectrum band, to expand 5G coverage further and build the platform for the next generation of 5G services, including network slicing. In July, Vodafone showed off the UK’s first standalone 5G network. Many upcoming 5G devices are expected to be DSS compatible, so will benefit from Vodafone’s latest investment. The DSS coverage will meet all 3GPP criteria for 5G connectivity.
Vodafone customers will experience London’s best 5G network on a 5G-capable device. Vodafone recently launched the new Samsung Galaxy Note20 5G and Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G smartphones to add to the wide range of 5G smartphones available.
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Notes to editors:
umlaut tested and measured the performance of data services using the latest 5G-capable smartphones, benchmarking the typical user experience on all four UK networks, using a drive test. The benchmark was performed by umlaut communications between 15 – 20 June, 2020 in London.
The test area accounts for approximately 4.5 million people – about 55% of the total population of London.
The full report is available here.
For more information please contact:
Vodafone UK Media Relations
Tel: 01635 693 693
Email: ukmediarelations@vodafone.com
Website: https://newscentre.vodafone.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vodafoneuknews
