Member Article

Mobile coverage in the capital has improved in 2017 but still lags behind other UK cities

With smartphones taking over every aspect of our lives in the last ten years, the importance of reliable mobile coverage has become an important component of a city’s general liveability.

With the advent of 4G mobile connections this has become even more intrinsic to our daily lives, but all too often Londoners have struggled to stay connected as overloaded masts and, in the City, ever taller skyscrapers have served to frustrate and annoy in equal measure.

New figures from network analysts RootMetrics have found that mobile coverage in London has improved somewhat in the first half of 2017, but that the city is still lagging behind some of its UK compatriots.

According to the firm, which ranks cities based on factors including overall performance, network reliability, network speed and other categories, the capital’s mobile network has enjoyed a slight improvement in the last six months, jumping four places in its rankings to 9th overall.

In terms of speed and reliability the latest figures show London lagging behind its regional rivals, including Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, with Glasgow finishing top overall while Edinburgh tops the list for speed and data performance.

Scott Stonham, General Manager of Europe at RootMetrics, said: “It’s all change in the latest round of results for the metro areas, showing that like the UK’s sporting leagues, mobile performance is just as hotly contested.”

“What’s clear is that, while there have been some strong performers – particularly in Scotland where Glasgow and Edinburgh are amongst the leaders – there is not a huge discrepancy across the country.

“It’s encouraging because it shows that while performance continues to improve there are no specific areas being left behind – although naturally some cities perform better than others.”