BELLEVUE, WA – Bell placed first in two of Canada’s biggest three markets for wireless speed and reliability, according to tests done by an independent mobile analytics firm.
In its second set of reports on Canada's mobile experience, U.S.-based RootMetrics posted results from its more than 71,000 data, call and text tests, performed using the same phones that consumers can purchase, off the shelves, at their operator’s stores.
The company tested Bell’s Rogers’ and Telus’ networks in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, in addition to regional networks Wind (in Toronto and Vancouver) and Videotron (in Montreal). It conducted the tests in a variety of locations, including indoors and while driving, at all hours of the day and night.
Measuring for overall performance, reliability, speed, call, data and text, RootMetrics said that its results show that the ‘Big Three’ mobile operators and Videotron provide Canadians with an impressive mix of speed and reliability that is comparable to, or exceeds, what it has observed in U.S. and UK cities.
In Vancouver, Rogers either won outright or tied in every performance category due to its fast upload and download speeds. Bell and Telus weren’t far behind, though RootMetrics said that although both of those carriers offer LTE, “a 3G sticky issue” resulted in its tests staying on 3G more than expected. Wind was nearly 20 times slower than Rogers in the median download testing, and RootMetrics also encountered more data and call failures with Wind than on the other networks tested.
All three incumbent mobile operators were strong in Toronto, but Bell and Telus narrowly pulled ahead in most of RootMetrics’ categories. Bell tied for, or finished in first outright, in all six performance categories, while Telus tied for, or finished in first outright, in five categories. Wind finished last in every category.
In every category and across every mobile operator, performance in Montreal stood out, the company continued. Results scored high in every category, with Bell and Videotron tying for overall performance and reliability. At 47.3 Mbps, Rogers scored the fastest median download speed the company said it has ever seen in its testing of Canadian, U.S. or UK markets. The widest disparity was in the call performance category where Bell scored a perfect 100, while Rogers had the “low” score of 95.6.
Overall, Bell, Rogers and Telus each won a total of 18 awards, with Bell bringing home the most first place awards (11 outright + ties).
“Network speeds grab the headlines, but we test the full range of your mobile experience,” said RootMetrics president and CEO Bill Moore, in the report’s news release. “The great news for Canadians is that we found tremendous performance across nearly every category we measure. Speeds were top-notch for the three national operators. But so were reliability, data, call, and texting performance. Consumers have several good options to deliver not just fast speeds but consistent network access.”
www.rootmetrics.com/ca
