The digital divide has not yet been completely overcome, as evidenced by the results of the telecommunications authority’s (Arcep) twentieth survey on the quality of service in mobile networks. The gap may have narrowed, but it is still real. subscribers get better service in cities than in rural areas. All aspects are covered, from telephony to video streaming and file sharing.
Orange dominates the ranking. It outperforms its competitors in almost every case and every geographic configuration analyzed by Arcep: cities, less densely populated areas or major transport routes. Behind him, Bouygues Telecom, Free and SFR are basically pocket handkerchiefs. For example, in dense areas, four operators have very high results in the web page display test; they are displayed in less than 10 seconds in 98% of attempts for Orange, 97% for Bouygues Telecom, 95% for Free Mobile and 94%. % for the SFR. But in rural areas, Orange (90%) is followed by Free Mobile (86%), then Bouygues Telecom and SFR (81%). The latter two share their network in the territories, which explains why they get the same results there. Same observation for download speed. Orange stands out, but this time Free is fourth and last.
At the moment, the use of 5G does not have a big impact on the rating. This is the network is still used by operators, and its immediate benefit is primarily that it provides additional capacity where mobile networks are heavily used or even saturated.Arcep explains. Therefore, it is necessary to wait until operators mutate their network cores before the significant differences between 4G and 5G connections can be quantified. Which should start next year.
Another feature of this test campaign, the 2022 version, was conducted in the summer. This has two consequences. The first is that average results, across all operators combined, are down slightly year over year. Arcep attributes this phenomenon to the period. In 2021, subscribers traveled less due to sequential restriction and used networks less. Second, some results may be distorted by high temperatures. It’s a little technical, but the latest smartphones adapt to the temperature by putting certain apps in the background as soon as the temperature exceeds 42 degrees. Their operation is therefore modified and the data must be corrected. In the future, Arcep may have to establish two barometers, one for cool weather and one for hot weather.
The last lesson, finally, the announcements of Arcep, if there were points to improve in the French mobile networks, then the subscribers can still be satisfied with the services of the most powerful in Europe.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.