Mobiles.co.uk Launches 4G LTE Checker

So you want to know what the best mobile network in your area is, particularly with regard to 4G, if indeed the service has rolled out near you?

Well, you’re in luck because a new resource has gone live on the web, namely a fresh coverage checker from Mobiles.co.uk which uses data collected by OpenSignal to construct a “heat map” of mobile coverage.

Red (hot) shows a strong signal, and blue (cold) a weak one – check out the coverage map here.

Mobiles.co.uk notes that in the UK, 4G users can expect around 12-15Mbps as an average speed, compared to around 1.5Mbps through 7.2Mbps (the theoretical best) for a 3G connection.

That said, OpenSignal’s crowd-sourced data has shown that 4G speeds are falling in the UK courtesy of a Which report, mainly due to the sheer numbers of people now getting on board with 4G handsets, which is clogging the 4G bandwidth up.

Anyhow, you can check your area with the map simply by entering your location in the top bar, and then adjusting which networks you want to be displayed, and whether you want to know about 2G/3G/4G, in the box at the bottom right. You can drill down pretty far to see the extent of local coverage by zooming in with your mouse wheel, too.