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Bt Broadband 4G

Smartphone users shun home Wi-Fi as 4G coverage improves

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By John Glenday, Reporter

July 21, 2015 | 2 min read

Smartphone owners are increasingly switching from Wi-Fi to 4G signals when at home according to new research investigating our browsing habits that shows 65 per cent of mobile phone usage now occurs indoors.

Network testing company GWS estimates that as many as 40 per cent of British smartphone users now routinely plump for 4G over Wi-Fi owing to poor mobile broadband reception, particularly in extremities of the home such as bedrooms.

Sluggish connections mean that for many struggling to stream video from their beds the best bet is 4G, even in the presence of a notionally quicker fixed line connection, until such time as broadband firms start to upgrade their home routers.

Despite being available since 2012 4G coverage in the UK remains patchy, particularly indoors, even in London where the three largest mobile networks offer between 95 and 100 per cent coverage.

Across the capital O2 performed best with 91 per cent 4G coverage indoors, followed by Vodafone on 87 per cent and EE on 85 per cent. Three languished far behind its peers with just 55 per cent indoor coverage across the city. Comparable figures for rural areas are far worse.

GWS surveyed 50 homes and interviewed 2,000 people to inform its survey.

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