O2 has been named the worst mobile phone operator for commuters in London, with much of the network relying on ancient and overused 2G technology.
A study by GWS on the ten busiest commuter lines into central London showed all the mobile networks struggling to handle the volume of calls and data, with a third of mobile browser sessions and one in seven voice calls made on commuter trains failing.
The research firm found that 23 percent of 3G data packets and 37 percent of 4G data packets travelling across mobile data networks on commuter trains lines failed to be delivered.
EE, O2, and Vodafone, all relied on creaky 2G infrastructure where 3G and 4G connections were failing. O2 fell back onto its 2G network more than 60 percent of the time, EE 42 percent of the time, Vodafone 40 percent of the time, while Three, which doesn’t have a 2G network of its own, offered the most reliable voice network.
Overall, the researchers found that Vodafone offered the most reliable 3G data network, and EE the most reliable 4G data network, but none of the network performed well. Data deadspots and dropped calls plagued all the networks across a variety of routes, and even in major stations such as St Pancras, Waterloo, Euston, and Liverpool Street.
GWS has produced a map showing all the data with options to filter it by network, voice, 3G and 4G.
