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The easiest way to check mobile network coverage in the UK

BY READERS DIGEST

22nd May 2021 Technology

The easiest way to check mobile network coverage in the UK
You can check the quality of mobile network coverage in the UK for free, from any part of the country. From this article, you will learn how to do it in a couple of clicks.
In 2021, UK mobile coverage relies predominantly on 4G. No mobile carrier provides 100% coverage—but some manage to cover up to 99% of the country's territory. In the next few years, 5G should become omnipresent and operators promise to invest large funds in improving their networks. From this article, you will get to know what affects the quality of mobile coverage in the UK and how you can measure it.

What does the quality of mobile coverage depend on?

The crucial factor is the distance between your device and the closest mobile phone network tower. If the distance is too large, there might be no coverage at all and you might fail to make even emergency calls.
To assess the strength of your coverage, you should check the set of bars on your smartphone's display: the more bars there are, the better. But if you take the device to another room, one or two bars might disappear. This happens because the signal runs into obstacles on its way from the tower to your phone.
Tall buildings, hills and tunnels are just a few examples of potential obstacles. When the signal gets into a "dead zone", the coverage disappears.
Following this logic, you might think that mobile coverage in rural areas is much better than in urban centers. In fact, the reverse is true. In rural areas, mobile phone network towers are scarce, whereas in cities, they are much more numerous.
However, whether in the countryside or the city, you might come across "dead zones" even in busy city centers. To improve the situation, mobile carriers put up more and more antennas around the country.
In 2019, the Shared Rural Network initiative was proposed to extend coverage in rural areas across the UK. Its proclaimed goal was to provide high-quality 4G coverage to 95% of the country by 2025. Four major telecoms operators, EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, joined forces to implement this initiative. A jointly owned company called Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited was chosen to oversee them.
Phase one of the scheme was announced at the end of January 2021. By 2024, these four networks promise to close almost all partial "not-spots" on the UK. They are planning to invest £532m to achieve this goal. Plus, the government will allocate £500m to support the initiative.

Which UK mobile carriers offers the best coverage?

In 2021, national mobile carriers provided the following coverage:
  • EE — 99%, 4G
  • Three — 99.8%, 3G and 4G
  • ID — 99.8%, relying on the Three network
  • Smarty — 99.8%, relying on the Three network
  • O2 — almost 99%, 3G and 4G
  • Tesco Mobile — almost 99%, relying on the O2 network
  • Giff Gaff — almost 99%, relying on the O2 network
  • Sky Mobile — almost 99%, relying on the O2 network
  • Vodafone — 97%, 4G
  • Talkmobile — 97%, relying on the Vodafone network
In 2022, 5G should become available in all the most densely populated areas of the country. Just as it happened with the previous generations of technology standards for broadband cellular networks, it will not replace 4G, 3G and 2G—but will become another "layer" on top that runs at significantly higher and faster frequencies.
Mind that the quality of your mobile communications depends not only on your carrier and your location. Your plan and your device matter too. For instance, if you use an old smartphone with a cheap EE plan, the speed of your mobile Internet connection might be 60Mbps. If you have a new and powerful smartphone, live in central London and use a pricier plan, the speed of your EE mobile Internet might reach 150 Mbps.

How can you check your mobile coverage?

Counting the bars manually on your smartphone's display is not the only way out. If you are planning a trip to a certain part of the country, you can assess the coverage remotely in advance. Just follow these steps.
  1. Visit the official site of the Tothemoonmobile project.
  2. Click on the Network Coverage Check section in the top horizontal menu.
  3. Indicate the location or postcode in the corresponding field. 
  4. Push the green Search Now button. 
The site will show you a colored Google map of the location that you are interested in. The brighter the color, the stronger the coverage. The coverage strength key features five grades: low, moderate, good, very good and excellent. You will be able to check the coverage for 2G, 3G and 4G, separately.
On the Internet, you can find other sites that offer similar services. But there are some other reasons why you could be interested in Tothemoonmobile. This project offers the UK's fastest national data speed network (according to RootMetrics 2020 Performance Review). Its customers can choose from 23 lucrative data options and pay only for what they need with a flexible bundle. All bundles come with unlimited UK calls and SMS. Every bundle order includes free delivery.
Tothemoonmobile has excellent customer support. You will not need to chat with bots or wait for an hour until the operator picks up the phone. Whenever you need to talk to the support team, you will be able to reach them quickly — and these will be live humans.
In the Tothemoonmobile mobile app, you will be able to fulfill many operations without third-party help: add a payment system, switch to a new plan, check your bundle allowance or order a new SIM card.
Those who encourage their friends to join Tothemoonmobile will get Amazon gift cards in terms of the referral program.

Final thoughts

The stronger the coverage, the faster your mobile Internet and the better the quality of your phone calls. To check the coverage in any part of the UK, you should visit the Tothemoonmobile official site. This project offers the fastest data speed network in the country and lets its customers choose from 23 lucrative data options.
Tothemoonmobile makes a meaningful step forward in the sphere of mobile communications. The quicker you join it, the sooner you will be able to appreciate its benefits!
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