Did you know you can now check which mobile network providers can provide your area with the best mobile signal?
Argyll and Bute Council has been working in partnership with Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) and Streetwave over the last few months to conduct an area-wide mobile coverage survey using specialist devices fitted to the council’s fleet of bin lorries.
As the vehicles travelled their routes, data boxes recorded vital information on about the four main mobile network operators (EE, Vodafone, Virgin Media O2, Three). This included signal strength, upload and download speeds, and which frequency (2,3,4 or 5G) an area is using.
This survey enabled data to be gathered on the quality of mobile signals in most residential areas and roads across Argyll and Bute.
It covered 2,500 kilometres of road network, encompassing mainland and island areas and was funded by the council’s Digital Exclusion Fund and SFT.
The survey is ongoing, and people can use an online address checker to see which network providers will offer the best mobile signal in their area. If your address does not pop up with any results when typed into the search bar, you can use the map view to find where you live and see what data has been collected.
Some areas are yet to be covered but this will be done over the coming months.
The council’s Policy Lead for Business, Councillor Math Campbell-Sturgess, said: “This survey has enabled research to be carried out and vital data to be gathered that will be a huge benefit to our communities. Argyll and Bute’s landscape is so diverse, so a reliable mobile phone signal is extremely important, especially in some of our more remote locations.
“By having this information on mobile network performance available, we can better address digital exclusion and push for essential coverage improvements to ensure connectivity for all our residents and businesses.”
