Crowdsourcing the UK's mobile coverage

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By Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent
@BBCRoryCJ

Ever noticed that your mobile phone signal does not deliver what you were promised?

Ever wanted to find out which network has the best coverage in your area? If so, you will have found that there's far too little information out there.

I've been talking about this issue with colleagues in the BBC and outside experts for some time, and wondering whether we could do something about it.

Now we are going to try.  

We're mounting an ambitious project to try to map mobile coverage across the UK - and, if you have an Android phone,  you can be part of it. From today you can download an app which will record the signal you're getting on your phone - 3G, 2G or nothing - and feed the data back to our research project.

The UK 3G survey app has been developed by Epitiro, the firm behind Ofcom's recent report on mobile broadband speeds.

It will record phone signal data all the time the phone is switched on, and Epitiro is  going to work with us to collect the results over the next month.  

The aim is then to plot the findings on a map which will be searchable by postcode. If we succeed, this should yield some interesting results.

HOW TO BE A PART OF THE UK MOBILE MAP

  • You will need an Android handset
  • Download the app below or from Android Marketplace
  • Once downloaded, data will be collected without you having to do anything more
  • If you wish to see what coverage is like in a particular place, simply click on the app
  • The app is free to download
  • It uses very little bandwidth
  • The data is anonymised and neither Epitiro nor the BBC will collate or store any personal data
  • UK 3G Survey

    TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE SURVEY

    We would like to offer you an opportunity to be part of a BBC project to obtain a snapshot of mobile broadband coverage in the UK("the BBC Survey"). This offer is subject to you agreeing to the following terms:-

    1. In relation to the terms of this engagement, and unless the context requires otherwise:
    capitalised words and phrases shall have the meaning defined herein;

    references to "you" or "your" shall be construed as references to you as the user of the App and as a participant in the BBC Survey; and

    references to "we", "us" or "our" shall be construed as references to the British Broadcasting Corporation ("BBC").

    In order to be part of the BBC Survey, you will need to download the free UK 3G Survey app ("the App") which has been developed by Epitiro. Please note that the App only works on android-based handsets. Please DO NOT use this App with either a Blackberry or an iPhone.

    2. You acknowledge that whilst this is a BBC Survey, the App belongs to a third party which is not in anyway connected to the BBC. The BBC does not endorse the App in anyway whatsoever.

    3. The App is provided "as is", and on an "as available" basis and we make no representations or warranties either express, implied or statutory (to the extent permitted by applicable law) in relation to the App. Nothing in these terms of engagement shall exclude any liability for death or personal injury.

    4. We do not warrant that the functions contained in the App will be error-free, that defects will be corrected by Epitiro as the provider of the App or that any software within the App will be free of bugs and viruses.

    5. The supply and availability of the App on this website does not in anyway obviate the need for you to carry out your own research as to the suitability of the App for your mobile phone device.

    6. The use of the App is entirely at your own risk and under no circumstances will we be liable to you or any third party for any of the following losses or damage (whether such losses or damage were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise):

    • (i) loss of data;
    • (ii) loss of revenue or anticipated profits;
    • (iii) loss of business;
    • (iv) loss of opportunity;
    • (v) loss of reputation or goodwill; or
    • (vi) any direct or indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages arising from your use of the App.

    7. We understand from Epitiro that they will not publish any personal information or collate any personal information from your use of the App. However, the underlying data will remain the property of Epitiro who may create their own map/site afterwards.

    8. We understand from Epitiro (but have not made any enquiries or carried out any research in relation to this) that the App uses very little bandwidth as it reports on data already present on the phone through its normal background communications within the network. For this particular App, Epitiro does not require dedicated use of the line other than to periodically send the test results to the BBC.

    9. Whilst data for the Survey will be collected while the App is installed, the App can be uninstalled by you at anytime.

    I have read and understand the terms

    Download: UK 3G Survey Android App

It could tell us, for instance, whether our mobile networks are capable of delivering broadband connectivity in parts of the country where the fixed line service is patchy, whether coverage across cities is consistently good, and whether some operators are supplying a better service than others.

Of course there's no guarantee that this crowdsourcing experiment will work.

For technical reasons, Epitiro can only make the app available for Android phones in the short-term, so that will limit participation. But Android is growing faster than any other mobile platform, and my bet is that users will be keen to take part.

You can find out more about the project elsewhere on the BBC News site, and the video we've posted here explains more. Do read up about the app, UK 3G survey, and make sure you are happy before installing it.

But if enough of you right across the UK do decide to take part, we could end up with something rather useful - the most detailed survey ever produced of the state of our mobile networks.

Update 1203 BST: It's been pointed out to me this morning that there is another Android application, OpenSignalMaps, doing a similar job to the one we are using for this survey. I've just spoken to Brendan Gill, one of a group of Oxford University physics graduates who are behind the Open Signal project.

They originally set up a business in the US selling cellphone signal boosters - apparently, there are even more issues with mobile coverage over there.

Then they decided to try to map signal strength anywhere in the world with an Android application. Like us, they had found that the maps provided by the networks really didn't tell the full story.

"Our approach is to try to build up the data, then get the networks to respond," Brendan explained.

I see from their website that OpenSignalMaps is also getting the same question we've faced about our app - why is it only available on Android phones, and not on the iPhone or Blackberry?

Like us, they've found that it's very difficult for an iPhone in particular to collect data such as signal strength from the phone. The open Android system seems to allow developers far more flexibility.