Projects

Mobile Internet measurement

Quality of mobile and personal communication services - QoS mobile

Data collection and assessment of the Quality of Service in mobile communication networks, based on field measurement campaigns (drive tests).

Goals

The main goal of the project is to present to the public the results of the Quality-of-Service (QoS) measurements of mobile communication networks, in order to allow customers to evaluate and compare the commercial offers.

Impact

The QoS survey of mobile networks will provide end users, first and foremost, with the possibility of choosing among several commercial offers by comparing their technical performance. This produces a strong incentive for the MNOs to undertake a continuous technological evolution and improve the quality of offered services. At the same time, AGCOM has the possibility of monitoring the actual development of national mobile networks over time, while comparing aggregated data to those from other countries.

Description

The Project envisages collecting data on the quality of Internet access services for end users of national mobile networks, in a way to be defined and updated by a Technical Committee in which AGCOM, the Bordoni Foundation and the mobile network operators (TIM, Vodafone and WindTre) participate.

In particular, the Bordoni Foundation is tasked with detecting the QoS on the mobile network, carrying the following tests:

  • upload data transmission rate (uploading a file from the user terminal to a measurement server located at the NAP in Milan);
  • download data transmission rate (downloading a file from a measurement server located at the NAP in Milan to the user terminal);
  • HTTP/HTTPS Browsing (access to a standard ETSI web page on the Internet, including the case of secure transactions).
  • Ping (measure of the data transmission delay).
  • Videostreaming (video download from YouTube platform).

 

For each type of test, the corresponding performance and failure rate, if any, is noted. The data thus obtained are analysed, validated and aggregated by the Bordoni Foundation at city and national level, examined by the Technical Committee and then provided to the Authority for publication on the Project website www.misurainternetmobile.it.

The measurements are performed aboard a vehicle, equipped with specialized instruments, both in static and dynamic conditions, in the municipal areas of the main Italian cities (45, starting from 2019), and along connecting extra-urban paths.

LTE technology was introduced in 2015, with tests on Android smartphones, in 10 major cities.
For the 2019-2020 campaigns, the set of cities was extended to 45, carrying out the test on a 4G network. For the 2021 campaign, measurements were carried out in the same 45 cities introduced in the campaigns conducted in 2019-2020.

As of 2016, in addition to the aggregate data relating to the measurements carried out, the comparative punctual results of the measurements carried out for the various networks are available through a graphical interface based on maps of the territory.

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