Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/17/vodafone_uk_coverage_map/
Vodafone customers collaborate to chart coverage
Are you giving me signals?
Posted in Mobile, 17th June 2010 15:30 GMT
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If you think network coverage maps are untrustworthy and always favour the supplier, here's a way to to put them straight.
Vodafone has introducted a real-time UK coverage map [1], displaying the individual signals strengths of their customers.
Where's the best bars at?
It requires punters to send in this information. Twitter users can tweet details by entering #vodafonesignal followed by location, connection type, signal strength in bars, whether you're indoors or not and which handset model you use.
Sound confusing? Vodafone has released a short video to demonstrate.
Those who don't tweet can go through similar protocol in the "Not on Twitter" box to the right of the web-based application.
The map is updated live, showing customers how strong a signal is in a given area at particular moments of time. Of course, how useful all this is remains to be seen, but it's early days, and is arguably more relevant than a broadly coloured map of the British isles, which is usually how carriers show the extent of their coverage. ®