Northumberland County Council have revealed its research on the effects of Vodafone’s 3G discontinuation. The research has found an increase in network efficiency and coverage.

Since the switch-off, Vodafone's 'Essential Coverage' has expanded by 3 per cent, reaching 92 per cent of Northumberland's geographical expanse.

In conjunction with the increased reach, Vodafone’s average throughput speeds have also increased by about 10 per cent.

This follows the telecommunications provider's assurance in February that the repurposing of the 3G range for 4G/5G would significantly improve user experience.

The data was collected in collaboration with mobile network analysts Streetwave, using advanced monitoring devices installed on council waste collection vehicles.

The efforts were triggered by resident concerns about potential network disruptions post switch-off.

Councillor Richard Wearmouth, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for corporate services at Northumberland County Council, stated, "Ensuring our residents have access to dependable mobile signal is a key priority for the council. "It’s fantastic to see that Vodafone’s 3G switch-off is benefiting our communities."

In future, the council plans to track the effects of the scheduled switch-off of Three and O2 networks in late 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Of interest, no impacts were noted from EE's 3G switch-off, as no 3G connections were recorded during the surveys across Northumberland.