EE mobile tops every chart in Rootmetrics 2017 survey
According to a recent industry report EE mobile is the fastest and most reliable UK network for internet, calls and texts.
The study was carried out by RootMetrics, an analytics company that publishes data twice a year on the big four mobile operators: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.
This is the the seventh time in a row that EE mobile has beaten out the competition and the second time that they have scored the highest in each individual category.
Each network is scored out of 100 on five criteria:
- Reliability
- Speed
- Data
- Calls
- Texts
The RootMetrics study brings together data from thousands of tests across rural and urban areas, in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and at all times of the day.
Data: Winners – EE mobile
When it comes to downloading and streaming data, EE tops the table for data with a score of 94.2. Its nearest rival is Three with a close score of 90.5. Trailing behind is O2 with a score of just 81.3.
Calls: Winners – EE mobile
EE still tops the list with a score of 90.9 with O2 again in last place with a score of 80.1. Call coverage is constantly increasing, but these lower scores indicate that most operators are focusing their efforts on improving their data service. Lower average call quality scores means only Vodafone are delivering a higher quality service for their calls than their data.
Reliability: Winners – EE mobile
For many of us, reliability is the most important quality for a network operator to have. EE proves most reliable with 94.5 but Three isn’t far behind with a score of 92.8. O2 is yet again trailing with a score of 82.7.
Texts: Winners – EE mobile
The speed of texts is very competitive across all the operators, but EE still manage to creep to the top with a score of 97.1. Three may be in last place but their score isn’t far behind at 93.9. It’s not too surprising, but text messaging seems to be well within the capability of all the network operators.
Speed: Winners – EE mobile
EE claims a sizeable margin over its competitors in terms of average speed with a score of 90.7. The others share reasonably close scores but we find O2 again at the bottom with 78.2 – indicating that O2 aren’t capable of delivering the speeds they’re promising.
Overall: Winners – EE
So it’s no surprise to see EE at the top with an overall score of 93.1 and O2 down at the bottom with just 81.5. The one category that O2 managed to score well in was text messaging – and only then by a slim margin.
Three’s high scores in reliability, call quality and internet performance give it the overall second place score of 89.2, beating out competitor Vodafone who scores 86.2.
While EE remains a cut above the rest in its speed and reliability, the study shows that all operators have improved their service for data, calls and texts since 2015.
The secret behind EE’s success seems to be their expansive 4G network, which reaches far further than any of the other operators – especially in rural areas.
More: EE turn to Helikites and drones to boost rural 4G blackspots
This gives them a huge advantage when it comes to measuring the speed and reliability of their service. But as EE’s competitors improve their 4G coverage, RootMetrics’ scores are predicted to even out in the future.
More: 4G signal boosters will soon be legal, says UK Government
It is important to note that these scores don’t take into account the costs or perks offered by mobile operators in their contracts and packages. It is purely a measure of the network’s ability to deliver their service.
Speed and reliability are important, but they’re not the only things to consider when it comes to choosing the deal that’s right for you.