Vodafone singled out as worst 3G in UK

Vodafone has been singled out as the worst provider of 3G mobile internet in the UK by telecoms watchdog.

The watchdog, Ofcom, published tests showing the Vodafone has breached the terms of its spectrum licence by missing its legal obligation to extend its coverage of 3G to 90% of the country.

This 90% is to cover the majority of the country’s population rather than the landmass meaning remote areas are still unlikely to get good coverage.

Vodafone is the only phone network in the UK to fail this test failing behind rivals O2,EE and Three. Despite being the only UK based company Vodafone has invested significantly less than the other companies.

In a statement by Ofcom, the watchdog wrote: “Following discussions with Ofcom, Vodafone has put in place a plan to bring itself into compliance with the 3G coverage obligation by the end of 2013.

“This will involve rolling out 3G to more mobile masts than Vodafone had originally estimated as being necessary. Ofcom has reviewed this plan, and believes it to be credible, but will closely monitor Vodafone’s implementation of the plan.”

Despite the failure to meet the targets Ofcom has decided not to take any immediate action unless Vodafone fail to convincingly address the issue.

However some consumers have been concerned about the growing number of reported 3G black spots as 4G rolls out across all the mobile phone networks not just.
Ofcom has made commitments to carry out research into 3G and 4G internet speeds.

According to Ofcom this research “will assess the average mobile broadband speeds received by 3G and 4G customers. The research is designed to help consumers understand the performance benefits of 4G over 3G mobile services and assist them in making informed purchasing decisions.”