The service coverage represents an important parameter in the process of choosing the telephone operator. Here are the operators that “take better”.
Between the many factors to consider in the choice of the best offer of telephony and, therefore, in the choice of the operator to which to rely to be able to access the Internet there is the coverage guaranteed by the single operator that can be a determining parameter of the whole process of choice by the user. As far as mobile telephony is concerned, a scarce coverage translates into the impossibility, or almost, of being able to make the best use of the services offered by one’s own operator.
Mobile coverage
An offer for smartphones can be particularly advantageous from a commercial point of view (including many GB at a low price) but if the operator that proposes it is not able to offer the right coverage in your city or even just in your neighborhood, the activation of such an offer will be decidedly not convenient.
Home internet coverage
As far as fixed telephony is concerned, instead, the coverage discourse is different as a coverage check is carried out before requesting the activation of a certain tariff. This verification process allows the operator to provide precise information about the technology available at the address of the new customer (ADSL, mixed fiber FTTC or fiber optic FTTH).
Why do the coverage check
Thanks to the coverage check, therefore, the user can have a very precise idea of the performance of the Internet connection included in the new subscription that will be activated. If, for example, the coverage check confirms the availability of FTTH fiber, it will be possible to establish, even before activation, that the Internet connection will be very fast and only possible network problems could affect the service offered by the operator.
Per avere un’idea sull’operatore che offre una maggiore copertura è, quindi, necessario analizzare separatamente il settore di telefonia fissa ed il settore di telefonia mobile al fine di poter fornire minformazioni precise in merito a questa intricata questione.
Telefonia mobile: la copertura di Vodafone, TIM, WINDTRE e Iliad
Individuare l’operatore di telefonia mobile che offre una copertura migliore del territorio nazionale è davvero complicato. I fattori che vanno ad influenzare la qualità del segnale e, quindi, le prestazioni della rete di un operatore sono molteplici e, anche all’interno di uno stesso comune, è difficile stabilire il provider che, in assoluto, è in grado di offrire il miglior servizio.
Copertura mobile: tutti i fattori da considerare
Gli aspetti da considerare sono numerosi. Le connessioni in mobilità, infatti, presentano prestazioni fortemente legate:
• al luogo in cui ci si trova: per esempio all’interno di un edificio la connessione potrebbe essere peggiore;
• al momento della giornata: in alcune ore, la rete potrebbe essere satura per via delle numerose connessioni:
• al dispositivo che si sta utilizzando: non tutti gli smartphone “prendono” allo stesso modo.
WINDTRE è la rete mobile più veloce d’Italia
In Italia, al momento, ci sono quattro operatori di telefonia mobile, ovvero Vodafone, TIM, WINDTRE e Iliad, che è ufficialmente il quarto operatore nazionale per numero di clienti. A questi vanno ad aggiungersi una vasta schiera di operatori virtuali che, grazie a specifici accordi commerciali, utilizzano la rete di uno degli operatori citati in precedenza per l’erogazione dei servizi voce e Internet in mobilità.
The latest OpenSignal survey, which took into account the mobile surveys recorded in the period between February 1 and April 30, 2020, showed that the best performance among mobile operators in Italy is that of WINDTRE’s mobile network, which was the fastest both in download and upload, but also in terms of user experience.
Connection speed
The performance of WINDTRE’s mobile network is capable of reaching 25.4 Mbps in download and 9.1 Mbps in upload. The company’s new network is based on 20 thousand “5G Ready” transmission sites and is characterized by the fact that it is able to guarantee continuity of service and reliability even at times when the number of users connected to the network is very high. The operator has also won first place, on a par with TIM, for what concerns the Video Experience.
The speeds of TIM, Vodafone and Iliad
As far as download speeds are concerned, TIM reaches 23.6 Mbps, Vodafone 21.6 Mbps, which is surpassed by Iliad with its 22.3 Mbps. In the upload speed the gap between WINDTRE and the other operators is even sharper: TIM touches in fact 8.0 Mbps, while Iliad and Vodafone are respectively 7.2 Mbps and 7.0 Mbps. On the other hand, Vodafone took first place for gaming experience and voice communication.
The 5G in Italy
Vodafone and TIM, moreover, were the first operators to have launched the 5G network, the new connectivity standard, which for now is only available in some Italian cities (you need a 5G smartphone to connect to the network). Regarding the best 4G coverage, we find Vodafone in first place (92.2%), followed by WINDTRE (91.4%), TIM (90.1%) and Iliad (88.7%).
Wind, Tre, Iliad
At the back of the two main operators, we find the Wind Tre network, which, as pointed out earlier, has almost completed the process of merging the Wind and Tre networks, and Iliad, which in just over a year on the Italian mobile market has collected several million customers even though it is still engaged in building its own network infrastructure capable of offering more than satisfactory coverage of the national territory.
Mobile telephony: coverage of virtual operators
As far as virtual operators are concerned, however, the coverage offered is identical to that guaranteed by the network of the “main” operator. If a virtual operator “leans” on the TIM network, it will have identical coverage to that available to TIM customers, net of specific commercial agreements between the virtual operator and the operator that provides the network infrastructure.
The connection speed of virtual operators
In fact, often, despite having the same coverage as the operator on which it leans, a virtual operator offers a slightly inferior service, in terms of performance, applying a limit to the maximum connection speed. Usually this limit is 30 Mbps or 60 Mbps for mobile connections via 4G network. 3G connections are not limited in speed. At the moment, moreover, virtuals do not have access to 5G network.
Mobile coverage
When choosing the mobile operator to use, therefore, it is advisable to take into account several aspects. The user must always evaluate the quality of an operator not only on the basis of coverage data, but above all in relation to his own needs. In most cases, in fact, the smartphone is used along the daily routes, in the workplace and in the neighborhood of residence. Depending on the area considered, therefore, it is possible that an operator that, on a national level, guarantees a better coverage is surpassed by another provider that, on a national scale, has a less capillary and performing network.
The speed test to verify the coverage of your operator
To be able to choose the operator to use, therefore, it is necessary to evaluate with much attention the coverage guaranteed by the single operators in the areas in which, normally, the smartphone is used in a greater way, both to call and to surf in mobility. Testing the performance of your operator, perhaps using a speed test, can be a first step to verify the quality of the coverage guaranteed by your provider.
Check the coverage in relation to the best offers
To evaluate the coverage guaranteed by other operators it is necessary to collect all possible information, perhaps asking friends and relatives how the performance of a specific operator is in a given area. As said before, the factors that influence the quality of the network are numerous and it is not possible to draw general conclusions that are really indicative. Users must, inevitably, evaluate case by case the coverage of an operator in relation to a specific area. After having individualized the operator that offers a better coverage for the areas of own interest, it will be necessary to verify the offers that this provider introduces in list. If these offers are not satisfactory, it will be possible to verify if some virtual operator, which uses the network of the operator with better coverage, presents advantageous rates, according to your needs.
Virtual operators: save money while having a good coverage
Choosing a virtual operator instead of a traditional operator (operators owning their own network, indicated with the term MNO) can represent an excellent solution to save money without renouncing to the possibility of exploiting a good network coverage, net of a maximum speed of the connection that could be lower than the one guaranteed by the provider owning the network.
Fixed Telephony
The analysis of the coverage and the individualization of the best operator of net as it regards the sector of the fixed telephony is much more simple. In this case, in fact, a large number of variables are eliminated, thanks to the presence of a physical infrastructural network, thus allowing users to have very precise information on the quality of the network even before proceeding with the activation of a new subscription.
How to verify the best coverage for fixed telephony
As far as fixed telephony is concerned, the process to identify the best operator is inverted with respect to what has been seen with mobile telephony. The first step is to identify the best offer on the market, evaluating the maximum speed available (according to the technology with which the connection will be made), the services included and, above all, the monthly fee and the presence of any constraints of the offer.
How to check ADSL or fiber coverage
After having identified the best option, the user will have to carry out a coverage check. This procedure is completed, quickly, directly from the official website of the operator with whom you want to activate a new subscription. To verify the coverage it is sufficient to insert all the requested data (it is necessary to know the precise address where the offer will be activated) in the appropriate verification form available on the provider’s website.
The ADSL or fiber coverage verification tools
After the verification procedure, after a few seconds the system will provide precise information to the customer about the type of network available at the address entered. On the basis of this information, the user will know what kind of offer he will be able to activate and, above all, what technology will be used to connect to the Internet from home.
The technologies of the main operators
Currently, the Italian fixed telephony market can count on three different technological options, namely fiber FTTH, mixed fiber FTTC and ADSL. In general, all the main operators, such as TIM, Vodafone, WINDTRE, Fastweb and Tiscali, offer tariff solutions with these technologies. The user will be able to activate the offer with the best available technology at his address.
FTTH vs FTTC
The absolute best solution is represented by the fiber optic network FTTH (Fiber to the Home) that, in the best case, guarantees a maximum connection speed of 1000 Mega in download and 300 Mega in upload. Those who are not reached by the FTTH fiber will have the opportunity to activate a subscription with mixed fiber technology FTTC (Fiber to the Cabinet). In this case, the connection is made through the fiber optic network which, however, stops at the street cabinet – the control unit that manages the connections of a specific area – and the last stretch is made of copper.
This solution allows, currently, to surf up to 200 Mega download and up to 20 Mega upload. Usually, fiber FTTH offers and mixed fiber FTTC offers have the same price, net of a different maximum connection speed and the fact that with the FTTH fiber there could be some small extra options, at no cost, such as decoders to see streaming content in Super HD.
ADSL
When FTTH and FTTC networks are not available you will have to fall back on the less performing ADSL network that, despite being limited to a maximum speed of 20 Mega, is the one that has the best coverage of the whole country. As an alternative to the ADSL network it is possible to rely on wireless Internet solutions, presented by specific operators such as Eolo or Linkem, but also TIM, which allow to exploit a fast and unlimited connection from home even in the absence of a physical infrastructure network, thanks to the use of mixed fiber radio.
As far as the “physical” networks such as FTTH, FTTC and ADSL are concerned, usually the various operators all use the same infrastructure (for example, many providers use the FTTH network of Open Fiber) and, therefore, the guaranteed coverage is practically the same. For the fixed telephony sector, therefore, it is very important to analyze the details of pricing solutions in order to be able to identify the best operator and, therefore, the best offer to activate.
In summary
In general, using the same physical network, in most cases the performance of the connection guaranteed by the various providers in a specific area will tend to be very similar. Eventual problems of technical nature or the presence of a network saturation could modify the effective performances of the connection, creating therefore differences among the various operators. In conclusione, è importante sottolineare le sostanziali differenze esistenti tra il mercato di telefonia mobile ed il mercato di telefonia fissa nell’individuazione del miglior operatore ed, in particolare, dell’operatore che garantisce la copertura migliore.
Verifica della copertura: rete fissa vs rete mobile
Nel settore mobile, individuare con precisione il provider migliore non è per nulla facile anche perché vanno analizzate più zone e non è possibile trarre una conclusione
“generale”.
Per il settore di telefonia fissa, invece, grazie anche alla verifica della copertura, la scelta dell’operatore migliore è molto più semplice. In questo settore, quindi, diventa più importante l’analisi dell’offerta commerciale rispetto all’analisi della copertura generale. The differences between the operators, in this case, are decidedly less marked than in the mobile sector and, therefore, it is more important to analyze the commercial aspects of the tariffs, which differ from each other also for the additional services offered, instead of the more technical aspects.