Mobile “Not-Spot” Measurement Campaign

Tender description

At present mobile network operators (MNOs) make use of coverage prediction tools in order to assess whether further network deployment is required and to provide customer information such as postcode checkers. This is supplemented by drive-test measurements which can improve the information and enhance the modelling tool, but the percentage of roads in the UK covered by such testing is small. While modelling provides a reasonable assessment of overall network coverage, it does not predict not-spot areas well and may be inaccurate in some locations. This means that consumer information is not always accurate and MNOs may not have the most precise information on the coverage of their network. Objective The aim of this piece of work is to undertake a regional drive-test measurement campaign (Phase 1) as a possible precursor to a national measurement programme (Phase 2). The purpose of the regional measurements are: • To provide measurement data against which the accuracy of the postcode checkers provided by the MNOs can be tested. • To demonstrate the practicality of making coverage measurements on the vast majority of roads in a region. • To understand in detail the costs of gathering such data.