Optus wins the P3 connect Mobile Benchmark 2017 in Australia

It is the fourth benchmark conducted by P3 in Australia, this year for the first time in co-operation with connect. Together, they frequently test the mobile networks in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. Their benchmarks are regarded as the de-facto industry standard.

The P3 connect Mobile Benchmark tested three networks – Optus, Telstra and Vodafone – using a highly sophisticated range of measurements across nine large Australian cities, 19 smaller towns and along 6,400 kilometres of major roads.

Optus wins overall with a clear lead in voice, with Telstra providing the best data experience.

With an overall grade of “very good” and a score of 887, Optus did best overall, showing a strong performance in the voice category and also improving its data scores. Last year’s winner Telstra ranks second with a score of 884 points and also end up with a  “very good” grade. Telstra improves compared to the 2016 test and is the strongest Australian operator in the data category. Vodafone takes the third position with an overall score of 817 and a “good” grading. Vodafone shows an improved performance and holds up very well in the voice and data tests conducted in the cities.

All operators show strong performance in large cities

The five largest Australian metropolises Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide account for more than 60 percent of the Australian population living in these urban areas. Overall winner Optus is leading in Melbourne, but had to make way for Telstra in Australia’s biggest city Sydney as well as in Brisbane. Vodafone is the local champion in Adelaide and Perth.

Hakan Ekmen, Managing Director P3 communications, explains: “The P3 connect Mobile Benchmark Australia shows that Australia’s network operators are continuously improving. The ongoing investments in upgrading and expanding their networks to meet customers’ demand are driving the market towards an outstanding performance. This year, Optus gains the victory for the first time.”

Testing “operational excellence”

P3 has been looking into additional methods for the quantitative determination of network availability, collecting data via crowdsourcing. All tests of network availability were positive. Between August and October 2017, there were no relevant incidents observed in the networks of Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. In the future, these analyses will become part of the overall scoring of all mobile network tests.

Following the 2017 publications in the UK, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and now Australia, the last P3 connect Mobile Benchmark of this series will be published in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2018.

About the P3 connect Mobile Benchmark

The P3 connect Mobile Benchmark is totally independent combining the expertise of P3, the industry’s advocate and global authority regarding measuring network performance, with more than 20 years of editorial experience and testing knowledge of connect, that is regarded as a leading consumer authority in Europe. The independent benchmark methodology of P3 assures a fair, transparent and neutral evaluation of the networks under test. The benchmark is positioned to be a unique measure for management and supervisory boards to compare their networks with others, and for customers to get a better understanding of how the different networks are performing.

About connect

connect (connect-testlab.com) runs its own smartphone testing laboratory with test sites for OTA (over the air) measurements, battery life, cameras, displays and speech quality to review smartphones in depth and detail. connect is a publication of the WEKA MEDIA PUBLISHING GmbH, the largest publishing house for technology in Germany and part of the WEKA group. The group consists of 20 media ventures in five European countries (Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Swiss) and several service companies.