# Mobile Broadband Performance Evaluation: Analysis of National Reports
## 3 Case Studies
### Connected Nations: UK  
_Regulator \(\rightarrow\)_ In the UK, OfCom, using MNOs, is the responsible organization for obtaining and compiling annual broadband service quality. The authority started compiling the report and service quality evaluation in 2004. A report was released in 2019, which is mainly focused on the years 2018 and 2019 [12]. _Operators \(\rightarrow\)_ According to the report, there are four well-known operators: EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone. _Method \(\rightarrow\)_ The report is based on service for a premise, which is a household or a location where a person can receive mail. To avoid redundancy, only the head of the household is associated with a premise. Then, the premises are classified as urban and rural using a third-party data source. As of 2019, 30.8 million locations were identified as premises. The objective is then to determine if these premises are covered by one or all of the operators using the coverage data obtained from MNO [12] and prediction. _Metrics \(\rightarrow\)_ In this report, the availability of voice, which means the ability to make a call for 90 s, and a data connection that guarantees 2 Mbps upload/download speed are measured. It is stated that 2 Mbps is fast enough to browse the internet and watch glitch-free mobile videos. _Evaluated services \(\rightarrow\)_ The 4G service is mostly evaluated as consumers tend to predominantly use it these days. The report is organized by urban and rural areas. However, 2G and 3G mobile broadband services have also been evaluated. _Result \(\rightarrow\)_* As of 2019, 4G is mainly used for carrying about 90% of all data traffic, while the rest is shared by 2G and 3G. On the other hand, 2G and 3G carried 6% and 73% of the voice traffic, respectively, while the remaining is served by 4G. * Outside premise indicates locations where people usually live, work, or travel. It is assumed, by this regulator/OfCom, to be a good indicator of the availability of coverage. * The voice from all MNOs is at 99%, and from at least one MNO is 100%. * 4G data from all MNOs is about 97% available, whereas from at least one is about 100%. * However, there is a significant difference between urban and rural areas. * The voice from all urban areas is at 100%, while that number is about 94% in the rural areas. Nevertheless, a voice from at least one MNO in rural areas remains at 100%. * With regard to 4G availability, in rural areas, at least one MNO it is as high as 99% and another is as high as 100%, whereas for urban areas, one is as low as 85% and one MNO is at least 99%. * Among MNOs, while EE has the best coverage in both urban and rural areas, Three has the least. * Indoor/inside premise evaluation is presented in the report. Here, we present a summary of the indoor results as of 2019. * The voice from all is 93%, and from at least one is 100%. Here, O2 and Vodafone provide 99% of voice service, whereas EE and Three provide 96%
* 4G from all is 80%, and 99% from at least one. In terms of 4G coverage, there is no significant difference from MNOs, but it is not specifically stated in the report. * The indoor coverage results of the urban and rural gap in terms of both voice call and 4G coverage is very large. * Voice service from all urban areas is at 97%, whereas only 68% of indoor premises in rural areas benefit from this service. * This inconsistency becomes worse when considering 4G services. EE has better service in rural areas, whereas O2 and Vodafone provide a superior service in urban areas. * Specific parts of the country that people often go to/use, such as roads, have also been checked for coverage. Motorways and A roads receive 81% of voice service coverage from all MNOs, whereas B roads only have 67% coverage. In terms of 4G service, the former receives 95% coverage, while the latter only receives 90%. This result is not broken down into rural and urban areas. Additionally, railroad coverage data are still under analysis.