Is region's 3G network keeping pace?

HUNDREDS of thousands of people watched the Olympic torch visit the North- East and North Yorkshire earlier this month.

The relay zig-zagged the region, taking in cities, towns, villages and well-known beauty spots at a breathless pace.

Media outlets, including The Northern Echo, followed the flame’s every move, sending back pictures, videos and stories to their head offices.

But for those journalists relying on their laptops, phones and tablets to transfer their work, it was likely to have been an arduous process.

Although getting a decent signal to send data or a tweet on the torch’s progress was no problem in the region’s big cities and towns, it proved almost impossible in more rural areas.

This experience of a patchy network is supported up by evidence from OpenSignalMaps - www.opensignalmaps.com - a company whose 30,000 UK users have mapped ten million locations since 2010.

The company’s research suggests that users only pick up a 3G signal 58 per cent of the time – despite the networks and Ofcom claiming that over 99 per cent of the UK population has access.

In County Durham, that figure drops to about 54 per cent, while in North Yorkshire users only have access 47 per cent of the time.

Brendan Gill, co-founder of OpenSignalMaps, says: “It’s clear from our data that there are still huge gaps in 3G coverage.

The day-to-day reality means that we struggle for signal coverage and are constantly finding ourselves in 3G ‘notspots’.”

And while many users in the North-East and North Yorkshire struggle to get a 3G signal, Mr Gill says other developing nations are moving onto 4G networks.

“There is a concern that the UK is being left behind,” he adds.

It is a concern shared by members of the business community who are heavy users of mobile internet services.

Mark Stephenson, policy advisor at the North East Chamber of Commerce, believes digital communications will become as important as roads, railways and air connections for linking businesses to customers.

“The North-East generally enjoys excellent connectivity, although in some rural areas challenges still persist in bringing the kinds of digital connectivity that towns and cities are accustomed to,” he says.

So are improvements in 3G coverage on the horizon? Not necessarily.

Three, a 3G-only network, says it has recently spent £600,000 in the Darlington area alone to improve its network.

And Everything Everywhere, which incorporates Orange and T-Mobile, has spent £1.5bn on technology to share each other’s networks.

However, operators admit issues such as local terrain and low populations means introducing 3G in some areas is simply not possible or practical, meaning improved mobile internet services are still a long way off for some.