The GSM mobile networks have good coverage and performance levels. This is the main conclusion of the Mobile Networks Quality of Service Survey (QoS GSM) carried out by ANACOM for the fifth consecutive year.
In terms of geographic coverage, a new feature was introduced: the analysis was extended to national railway routes and included, for the first time, two of the main routes - Braga-Oporto-Lisbon and Lisbon-Faro. Another special feature this year was a more detailed analysis of coverage in the cities of Lisbon and Oporto.
As in previous surveys, three mobile network indicators were considered: coverage, accessibility and audio quality.
The main conclusion regarding accessibility was that approximately 97% of test calls were established and maintained successfully. However, the survey found that there was a reversal in the trend for constant improvement seen in this indicator in recent years. Another conclusion in relation to accessibility was that there were no significant differences in results between road arteries and built-up urban areas.
Good coverage levels were found in both the urban zones and along the road arteries analysed. However, the survey found that the worst performance of the GSM mobile networks was along the railway routes. This was especially the case along the Lisbon-Faro route where significant coverage deficiencies were detected.
With regard to audio quality, approximately 99% of the test calls had good or acceptable average quality values. There was, however, a reduction in the number of calls with good audio quality. This was in keeping with the trend noted in the 2002 and 2003 studies.
The measurements in the built-up urban areas and along the road arteries took place between 11 October and 21 December 2004 on working days during normal working hours. On the railway routes the measurements were taken on 9 and 10 February 2005. An overall total of 18,147 test calls were made in thirty cities, along ten major road arteries and along two principal railway routes in mainland Portugal. This corresponds to approximately 274 hours of measurements along 10,331 kilometres.
Consult:
- GSM Mobile Networks Quality of Service Survey (February 2005) https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=265495
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- Quality Reports https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=293535
