New impartial benchmark to compare Australia’s mobile networks

Sydney/Aachen, September 16, 2014 – Australia’s daily telecommunications journal CommsDay and international consulting, engineering and testing services company P3 communications announce the launch of a new annual comparative benchmark for Australia’s three mobile networks. The report will objectively evaluate and compare the performance of the Optus, Telstra and Vodafone networks from the user’s perspective, based on an extensive and comprehensive series of tests conducted each year.    The 2014 mobile benchmark will focus on the performance capability of the 3G and 4G networks for voice and data, measured via both drive tests and stationary tests through August and September. The final report will be published in a special edition of CommsDay Magazine, to be released at the CommsDay Melbourne Congress on October 7 & 8 2014; it will also be freely available to download online.   Test metrics will include voice call quality, success rates, file upload and download speeds, website access, SD and HD mobile video performance and more. Testing locations and routes have been carefully selected in order to cover a significant and representative share of the overall Australian population. Tens of thousands of measurements will be conducted across major metropolitan areas, smaller towns and cities, and connecting roads and highways.   The report will be written and published by CommsDay, while the testing will be conducted by P3 communications. Both partners bring extensive telecoms knowledge and know-how to the project.    P3 communications has a wealth of highly developed expertise in the area of mobile and fixed networks testing. It has been conducting similar mobile benchmarks since 2002 in Germany and in Austria and Switzerland since 2009, the well-known ‘Connect Test’ (see connect network test 2013) and is also launching an annual benchmark in the UK later this year. In 2013 alone, P3 communications compiled about 40,000 measurement hours in 42 countries across five continents, with its test vehicles covering more than 500,000 miles.   Meanwhile, CommsDay has built a reputation for objective and insightful reporting and analysis across every area of the telco market in Australia and beyond over the last two decades. Both partners have collaborated closely through the project, with P3 consulting CommsDay around the details of the Australian mobile telco landscape, and sharing its own experience of scoring and reporting from other European benchmarks.   “For CommsDay, the benchmark provides an opportunity to supply a wealth of detail around mobile network performance that will be of keen interest to many of its readers, as well as to a broader audience,” said CommsDay group editorial director Petroc Wilton. “It also reinforces the publication’s standing as the authoritative source of objective information on telecommunications in Australia.”   “The launch of the benchmark in Australia gives P3 the opportunity to extend its proven leadership in the field into this advanced market and to boost its presence in the wider region,” said P3 communications managing director Marcus Brunner.   Photo 1:The Australian mobile benchmark is based on cutting-edge methodology.   Photo 2: P3 communications cars equipped for drive testing. Source: CommsDay.
Watch the video introduction here
  About P3 communications   P3 communications is a leading international consulting, engineering and testing  services company. P3 communications is part of the P3 Group, which has over 2,500 employees worldwide and posted a turnover of more than €270 million in 2013. The  company provides a broad portfolio of independent technical and management consulting services including network planning, engineering, end-to-end optimization,  security, QoS and QoE testing, international benchmarking, device testing and acceptance services. P3 communications’ clients include network operators, equipment vendors, device manufacturers, public safety organizations and regulatory authorities around the world; the company’s own experts combine strong technical know-how with many years of management experience.   About CommsDay   Communications Day is the primary source of news, information and analysis for the telecommunications industry in Australia and New Zealand. Launched in 1994 as a  daily journal, CommsDay is now read each day (and frequently cited as a reference) by thousands of C-suite executives, ministers, policymakers and senior regulators  across the sector. The brand has also expanded to include a digital magazine and an annual program of major conferences in Sydney and Melbourne.