Telekom, Vodafone, Telefónica: The combat for the perfect community has a transparent winner | EUROtoday

The cell operators Vodafone and Telefónica are nonetheless biting their tooth at Deutsche Telekom. This yr too, they’re unable to meet up with their rivals from Bonn when it comes to community high quality. This is the results of the 2 most essential community exams carried out by the magazines “Connect” and “Chip”.

Telekom emerged because the clear winner in each exams, in “Connect” for the seventeenth time in a row. Telekom achieved the grade “outstanding” there, whereas its rivals achieved the grade “very good” at a long way. For Chip, the folks of Bonn obtained a grade of 1.2, Vodafone adopted with 1.4 and Telefónica O2 with 1.6.

The focus of the exams for all testers is now on using the cell Internet, which smartphone customers most likely use more often than not. In the large cities, the community operators hardly expose themselves any extra. Their 5G networks are nicely developed there. “It is clear that the differences in 5G expansion are dwindling – in the cities all networks are at the same level,” says “Chip”. But on the very excessive speeds, Telekom can nonetheless stand out.

Telekom additionally sees “Connect” as a frontrunner. In the info take a look at, the take a look at end result exhibits hardly any enchancment in comparison with the earlier yr, whereas Vodafone loses barely and Telefónica catches up barely. The testers test the success of web site visits, downloads and uploads, video streaming and response instances on the web. In the large cities, Telekom is forward with 99 p.c within the whole of measured values ​​collected by way of 5G, O2 follows with 96 p.c and Vodafone with 89 p.c. In small cities the hole is bigger. Telekom nonetheless holds 97 p.c there, however Vodafone drops to 80 p.c and Telefónica to 74 p.c. Telekom customers even have the perfect reception on connecting roads.

“Connect” and “Chip” put plenty of effort into their annual exams. Network operators monitor the outcomes intently. The testers test the connections within the automotive, practice, on foot and in public transport. To do that, you drive a number of thousand kilometers by way of Germany. They additionally consider a number of billion information units utilizing a crowdsourcing course of. Several million smartphones robotically and anonymously report the outcomes of their measurements, that are continuously working within the background, with details about whether or not there was contact with the community, which community applied sciences had been obtainable and at what information fee and response time the transmission occurred.

The voice high quality within the networks can also be taken under consideration to a considerably smaller extent within the outcomes. Not solely is the standard measured, but in addition the success fee of the connections. In the “Connect” take a look at, Telekom was capable of persuade when it comes to voice high quality. While all three suppliers delivered good to excellent voice high quality in giant cities, Telekom had a transparent benefit in rural areas.

While the cell phone networks are principally getting higher and higher from yr to yr, the large weak level for all cell phone operators stays the reception on trains. “The better mobile communications get, the more noticeable the deficits are on Deutsche Bahn trains,” says chip cell communications knowledgeable Markus Mandau. The “chip” testers discovered disappointing measurement outcomes on the practice take a look at routes. But right here too, Telekom continues to be the chief in cell Internet, though with worse values ​​than in different places. When it involves voice high quality, “Chip” provides a greater end result to its competitor Vodafone.

In the “Connect” take a look at, Telekom nonetheless achieved the perfect outcomes on the practice, however none of them did nicely right here. Telekom and Vodafone are even falling behind the earlier yr’s values ​​when it comes to voice high quality. Only Telefónica was capable of enhance barely. In the info exams, the measurements present small enhancements in comparison with the earlier yr. Here too, Telekom is within the lead, Vodafone and Telefónica every comply with at a transparent distance.

There are numerous causes for the poor efficiency on the practice. A very large impediment are the home windows of many trains, that are coated for thermal insulation and subsequently don’t enable cell phone indicators to cross by way of. This can imply that there’s reception outdoors the practice, however not within the carriage.

Newly ordered ICE trains not have this drawback. The home windows of older trains may be processed with lasers in order that they let the indicators by way of once more. But to do that they need to be taken into the workshop and briefly taken out of circulation. That will seemingly take a while.

Both main community exams use their measurements to test the technical efficiency of the networks. But the crowdsourcing outcomes present what really reaches the customers ultimately. A well-developed 5G community doesn’t assist the person if his older smartphone solely works within the 4G community. The “Connect” take a look at exhibits that the majority cell web customers usually are not but on the 5G community.

In November solely 16.4 p.c of Telekom customers had been within the 5G community. At Telefónica it was solely barely extra, and at Vodafone one in 5 used the 5G community. According to their very own info, this share is rising shortly for all community operators – however the brand new and quick 5G networks are seemingly for use comparatively little for a while to come back.

The fourth cell community from 1&1 is virtually not but current – aside from Berlin, Frankfurt and Leipzig – and subsequently didn’t play a major function within the exams. Nevertheless, 1&1 has round twelve million cell clients who up to now primarily used the Telefónica community. But sooner or later they may transfer to Vodafone’s community and roam there if they don’t seem to be inside vary of their very own 1&1 antenna.

Thomas Heuzeroth is a enterprise editor in Berlin. He experiences on Consumer- and know-how subjects, Consumer electronics and Telecommunications.