IV30 - Elgin

[Nabs]

Just moved into a new property on an estate that was built in 2011. The coverage map on the NSC shows that I should get good indoor and outdoor 4G coverage. This is unfortunately not the case. My phone is constantly switching between 3G and 4G.
The speeds on both network types are terrible to the point where web pages are timing out and various apps do not load.
I'm not able to get broadband installed until the 30th so I'm reliant upon mobile data connection for everything at the moment.
I've posted the template below.

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1) Does the issue happen in just one location? If so, how far do you have to travel to regain service?
Yes. Unsure of distance required to gain usable service.

2) What is the full postcode (e.g. ST1 1AA) of where the issue occurs? If you don't want this showing on the Community, add it to your profile here. 
IV305PY
When entered into the NSC the postcode does not identify my exact location. 
I'm happy to provide the specific location (What3Words or OS ref) via secure channels. 

3) Does the issue occur if you try your SIM card in a different phone? 
Yes

4) What errors are seen or heard when the issue occurs? 
Low level of coverage indicated (1bar)
Abysmal speeds on 4G (<2Mbps).
Phones frequently drop back to 3G which is even slower= (<1Mbps)
NSC suggests good indoor and outdoor 4G.

5) Does this happen on 2G, 3G, 4G or all?
3G and 4G

6) When did you first notice this issue?
Moved into new property on 19/10/23

7) Is the issue permanent or intermittent? If intermittent, are there certain times of the day when it occurs?
Poor speeds are permanent though particularly noticeable in evenings suggesting a capacity as well as coverage issue.

[Effie]

Hey @Nabs I hope you're doing well and getting settled in your new home! 

I've taken a look at your postcode and you are correct, the area sits in a large patch of poor coverage. The mast you are connecting to (Site 6909) is North of you by some distance and between you and the site, is that very large area of poor signal. 

Because of the actual coverage in your postcode, we would expect you to achieve slightly lower speeds and the likelihood of connection problems is higher. We expect you to achieve no lower than 0.4Mbps on a 4G connection and no lower than 0.5Mbps on a 3G one. If you run a speed test on speedtest.net and you are achieving below these minimum figures, we can certainly look into raising a Network Case to have the engineers investigate but they won't look into it if you are within the estimated speed ranges unfortunately. 

[Nabs]

Hi @Effie 
Thanks for the response.
If the area is in a "patch of poor coverage" why does the online status checker show it as "Good indoor & outdoors"?
Is there an error on the checker that needs to be addressed?

[Effie]

The Network Status Checker (NSC) works more like a general coverage checker and categorises areas into 'Good indoors and outdoors', 'Good outdoors only',  'No coverage' etc but it doesn't show mast locations, number of masts, the way an area is built up or more rural and more.

Unfortunately this means it's not as specific as the systems we have access to as agents. We have raised this to see if we can get this changed so the NSC can be more accurate and reliable so hopefully this is something that can be implemented. 

[Nabs]

Thanks @Effie appreciate it.

[Effie]

You're welcome @Nabs If there's anything else I can help you with, please do let me know. 

[Nabs]

Hi @Effie 
Just to give a bit of an update to this.
I was (stupidly) awake at 6 a.m. this morning so I tried running a speed test on 4G.
To my surprise, it returned a rather delightful 15Mbps down and 7.58Mbps up. This would suggest to me that it's a capacity issue on the mast rather than a coverage issue. 
This area has been earmarked for around 1500 new homes and businesses with construction well underway on the first phases (157 houses) and planning underway for the second phase of 268 houses. As these houses get built, coupled with the expansion of nearby RAF Lossiemouth next year, the issues experienced by customers in this area are only likely to get worse.

Do you know if Vodafone has any plans to address the coverage and capacity in this area in the near future?

[Gemma]

Morning @Nabs - it was like the middle of the night at 6am this morning, with how dark it was! Thanks for the information you've given about the changes taking place in your area. 

I understand @Effie mentioned, how our internal coverage checker, shows a slightly different view than what's currently on our Network Status Checker. I've just checked both for you. Within the next three months, it's estimated that there will be a slight 4G improvement in your area. If you select the 'Planned (3 months)' section on the bottom right of the checker, you'll see it changes in some of the locations surrounding your postcode: 

On our internal system, this does update for your postcode, although it's still a poor coverage over good. As soon as there's any work that's due to take place in your area, it'll be updated on the Network Status Checker. I can't see any dates for this as yet against the site 6909.

If you find things get worse than they are now and go below the expected data speeds shown, then please message us on here first, to let us know you'll be getting in touch on Social Media. We can then take some examples and if needed, raise it to our Network Engineers. 

[Nabs]

Hi Gemma,
Just an update on this one;
The coverage (signal strength) has marginally improved in recent months however the speeds are still slow.

I have noticed that a new mast has been built around a mile northeast of my location (I can provide exact location if you wish?)
The planning application was submitted by Wireless Infrastructure Group on behalf of CTIL, who are obviously Vodafone and O2's mast operator. 
I can see from the O2 coverage maps that they have installed equipment on this mast and are providing 4G and 5G services.

Are Vodafone also providing services from this location or am I still connecting to the original location over 5 miles away?

[Andy]

@Nabs It's good to hear your coverage has shown some signs of improvement. I have checked which mast we expect you to connect to and it is one north east of you so I believe this will be the new mast, previously you were connecting to mast 6909 which was further away. Currently the mast doesn't have 5G cells available but this may change in the future. So we can get a picture of the speeds you're receiving, could you please run a speed test here and post a screenshot of your results.