T-Mobile’s mobile broadband network has been judged the best in the UK for the second successive quarter in independent tests. The tests benchmark T-Mobile against its competitors by measuring customer experiences during peak usage hours, across 16 cities throughout the UK. When measured against its mobile broadband competitors, T-Mobile was found to be fastest for web browsing, internet upload speeds, and sending and receiving emails.
The tests show that in Q4, T-Mobile had the fastest web browsing experience that on average was 35% faster than the nearest competitor. T-Mobile’s top ranking in the P3 Solutions quarterly analysis is supported by a superior upload performance that is 59% quicker than the next best operator.
T-Mobile began independent network benchmarking in Q2 2008 in order to establish a framework for conducting ongoing improvements to its mobile broadband customer experience. Network performance is measured against everyday applications such as browsing the most visited web sites, streaming video, downloading a 3MB music file, uploading a 1MB file, and email performance with a 500KB attachment.
To replicate actual usage patterns, all measurements are performed not earlier than 11am and not later than 11pm, seven days a week. This customer-centric methodology enables the identification of real issues on which T-Mobile can act to improve the user experience. Since testing began, T-Mobile has achieved a 12% improvement in web browsing reliability and download speeds have increased by more than 40%.
Emin Gurdenli, chief technology officer at T-Mobile UK, commented: “To be ranked number one for two consecutive quarters since testing began in April last year is a significant achievement. Our consistently high performance is testament to the fact that we continually test and improve our network to make sure our customers are getting the best possible mobile broadband experience. As the number of customers opting for the flexibility and convenience of mobile broadband continues to rise quarter on quarter, we will continue to expand on the potential of mobile broadband, through improved performance and our innovative range of tariffs and laptop bundles.”
T-Mobile was the first operator to roll out HSUPA on a nationwide basis. It is in the process of upgrading the underlying download capability of its HSDPA-enabled 3G network to 7.2Mbps, both within the M25 and other major cities, providing realistic mobile broadband speeds of up to 4.5Mbps in those enabled areas.