With increasing numbers of people now reliant on mobile phones as their main telecommunications method it’s important that mobile phone signals and connections to 3G networks are consistently available in all parts of the country…but that isn’t the case according to Telecoms official watchdog Ofcom.

Ofcom have released 3G coverage charts (based on a snapshot of coverage in January 2009) representing the areas where mobile operators meet the regulator’s minimum coverage requirements. Ofcom research figures show that more than two million new connections were made to mobile broadband between February 2008 and February 2009, with an increasing number of customers accessing the internet through mobile networks on their computers by using a dongle or 3G datacard.

An Ofcom spokesperson said, “Coverage of mobile networks in the UK is generally good, indeed, it is better than in other comparable countries, but some issues persist.”

“For 3G network coverage there is still a noticeable difference between rural and urban areas, and also between different parts of the UK, with coverage problems a particular issue in the devolved nations.” Added the spokesperson.

The charts don’t make brilliant reading if you have shelled out hundreds of pounds for an Apple iPhone 3G or you have pre-ordered the new Palm Pre. 02 who have the exclusive selling rights to the Palm Pre and the new iPhone 3GS have come out as the carrier with the worst coverage in the UK. If you have a 3G phone and are an 02 customer you should know there are huge chunks of the country especially in Scotland where coverage is missing.- That’s not ideal as these areas do cover some popular tourist regions-and 02’s coverage can only be described as patchy at best.

The charts based on coverage supplied by 02, Orange, Vodafone, 3 and T-Mobile seem to indicate that Orange currently provide the best coverage across the country as a whole.

The Ofcom charts indicate areas of the country where customers should be able to make and receive calls over a 3G network. The maps show coverage issues in lots of rural areas as well as some large parts of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, south-western England, northern England and East Anglia.

Ofcom do admit that the coverage charts supplied by individual network operators themselves do provide better accuracy of the currently available coverage and may be a more reliable guide where 3G coverage is available than their own charts.

How good is the coverage in your area? Do you live in a blackspot…how do you cope without a decent signal? Let us know what you think by leaving us your comments.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 8:42 am and is filed under Broadband, General, Networks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.