Between January and August over 11,000 people helped contribute data points for a survey Broadband Expert was taking and the results are in: Vodafone has the fastest network with an average download speed of 1.78 Mbps, compared to 3 with 1.76 Mbps, Orange with 1.46 Mbps, O2 with 1.42 Mbps, and T-Mobile with 1.07 Mbps. When it comes to customer satisfaction however the rankings are practically in reverse. T-Mobile customers are the happiest with 71% satisfaction, then 3 with 69%, Vodafone with 68%, O2 with 65% and in last place Orange with 64%. The fairest pricing award goes to T-Mobile, who don’t charge you extra if you happen to download more than your monthly data cap, and O2 who has the best pay as you go prices. The surprising results is coverage. It’s always been Vodafone, who is one of the largest operators in the world, who was thought to cover the most people. Survey says it’s actually 3, one of the underdogs.
With Nokia Siemens Networks recently saying that smartphone users are now becoming really picky as to who to use, preferring the operator who has the best network, instead of the old rubric of who is the cheapest, does this mean the operator landscape in the UK, and Europe in general, is going to shift? What good is a low monthly bill if you can’t do the things you want to do with the top end smartphone you just purchased? That’s my logic.
It’ll be interesting to see the survey results in 2011 after the merger of T-Mobile and Orange is finally complete and customers will be able to use both networks. Coverage will go up, that’s a given, but how speeds and customer satisfaction fair is a different story all together. The combined mega operator, going under the brand “Everything Everywhere”, will have around 30 million customers. Nothing compared to the likes of China Mobile, but still, with complicated billing systems meant to confuse customers at every bit and SMS that goes through the air, can their computers handle the load?