Mobile internet patchy and congested, UK survey reveals

The mobile internet is being held back in the UK by lack of 3G coverage and congestion where coverage is available.

A nationwide survey by the BBC of thousands of users revealed that testers able to receive a data connection only got a 3G signal 75 per cent of the time.

The broadcaster has published a map that illustrates coverage across the UK. As expected, there are large sparsely populated areas with no coverage. But the survey also reveals a significant number of 3G "notspots" in urban areas too.

Over 44,000 people took part in the survey from the Shetlands to the Isles of Scilly, providing some 1.7 million hours worth of connection data and making it easily the largest of its kind in the UK. It was conducted by testing firm Epitiro using an Android app that collated the 3G coverage the handsets were receiving.

Despite casting doubts on their claims of 90 per cent coverage by population, the survey has been largely welcomed by mobile operators.

But it has also attracted criticism from operators and other industry experts for not taking network capacity into account.

“With more people using their smartphones to access the internet, a clear pattern of congestion has emerged in busy areas,” said Stephen Rayment, chief technical officer at BelAir Networks. “These areas may show up as offering 3G services in tests, but the user may not actually be getting the true mobile broadband experience, due to the high number of users vying for the finite bandwidth available.

“It’s not just about signal strength and coverage issues, it’s also about capacity,” he added.