4G SIM NewsLeading 4G network EE regularly compiles Mobile Living Index reports to show the impact of 4G on its customers’ lives and what people are using 4G for. The network has recently released a Mobile Living Index Snapshot for the first half of 2015 to show how EE customers are using 4G to listen to the radio, and how 4G data was used at the Glastonbury festival this year.
Listening to 4G radio
When we think about listening to music via 4G we are usually talking about music streaming services such as Deezer or Spotify, but in fact may mobile users make use of 4G to listen to the radio while on the move. The EE Mobile Living Index took a look at particular events that took place during two days in July to see how they impacted on the number of listeners accessing radio stations via 4G.
The two dates chosen were 2nd July, which was during the first week of Wimbledon, and 9th July, when there was a strike on the London Underground and the first Ashes test match was played, as well as further Wimbledon games. Volumes of radio listeners were recorded across the EE 4G network in the South East of England over the two days.
On 2nd July the radio listening pattern for the day was fairly standard, with the usual peak in the morning as commuters listened to the radio via mobile devices on their way to work. There was a small peak on 4G radio traffic in the afternoon when Dustin Brown defeated Rafael Nadal, knocking him out of the Wimbledon tournament.
One week later, on 9th July, the morning peak of radio listeners was significantly higher, with a 23% increase in listeners. This was due to the London Underground strikes which meant that more commuters were travelling to work above ground, and so were able to listen to the radio. Later that afternoon there was a 200% uplift in listener volume, largely due to 4G users tuning into Radio 5 Live to listen to the first Ashes test match or further Wimbledon matches. Significant dips in listener volume were seen during the Ashes lunch and tea breaks.
4GEE at Glastonbury
The Mobile Living Index Snapshot also gave more details about the volumes of 4G data used at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. Overall 13.3 Tb of 4G data was carried over the EE network at the festival, a massive increase from 2.5 Tb in 2014, and 1.3 Tb in 2013. The peak day was Sunday, where 2.07 Tb was carried over the 4G network, compared with just 0.95 Tb over the 3G network – a pattern that was fairly consistent throughout the event.
Overall the EE network also carried 26,000 hours of voice calls during the festival. Phone calls were more reliable than ever before at Glastonbury, with 97.55% of calls going through. It was the 17th year that the network had been the official technology and communications partner to the festival.