To hit the sweet spot for the best mobile network user experience, you want to live in a metropolitan area — but smaller metros have better network performance than the most populated urban areas, according to the most recent analysis by RootMetrics.
The testing company analyzed data it collected from the 125 largest markets in the U.S. across six performance categories from data speed to calls and texting, and weighted the results based on estimated national percentages of subscribers for each of the four national carriers, so that good performance on a crowded network –versus one more lightly populated — was accounted for. RootMetrics concluded that the market with the best performance was Lansing, Mich., followed by Indianapolis, Ind. (where AT&T recently rolled out its “5G Evolution” network upgrades to LTE Advanced Pro); Modesto, Calif.; Chicago, Ill.; and Port St. Lucie, Fl. Chicago was the only major urban market to make the top five.
On the other hand, smaller metros also dominated RootMetrics’ list of the bottom five markets: Hudson Valley, N.Y. was dragged down by slow network speeds and came in at #125 out of 125. Just above Hudson Valley was Bridgeport and Stamford, Conn.; and the three markets of Indio, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and Hartford, Conn. rounded out the bottom five with a tied score.
Read the full results from RootMetrics here.
In other test news:
– Viavi Solutions’ net revenues were down 11.6% year-over-year to $198.1 million, the company reported this week in its fiscal fourth quarter results. For the full fiscal year, Viavi’s net revenues were off 10.5% compared to the previous year and came in at $811.4 million.
Net income for the fiscal fourth quarter was $12.1 million, and full-year net income was $26.9 million. Viavi has been restructuring its service enablement division this year and at the beginning of 2017, had announced workforce reductions.
Oleg Khaykin, president and CEO of Viavi, said that in its next fiscal year, the company “will continue to focus on revenue quality improvement and profit diversification, as we manage the cyclical business challenges to our core businesses.” He added that he expects to see improvements in Viavi’s network and service enablement segment, “aided by the expected recovery in North American service providers spend and our revamped product strategy.”
–Wireless Telecom Group’s net revenues for the quarter jumped 57% year-over-year to nearly $12 million, the company reported, with about $5.6 million in revenue generated by its network solutions operations and another $3.3 million from its test and measurement group. Wireless Telecom Group still registered a net loss for the quarter of about $1.4 million.
–iBwave said that its Wi-Fi network design solution was used by Japanese technology company Toyo to build a Wi-Fi network for Interop Tokyo 2017, which was held at Makuhari Messe Japan. More than 140,000 people were expected to visit the show over three days.
– Meanwhile, Spirent Communications’ Landslide E10 network test platform was used by O2 to test the performance and capacity of the Wi-Fi at the Coca-Cola London Eye, before the launch of a new smartphone application by the amusement ride’s operator that was expected to put more pressure on the existing Wi-Fi network.
–LitePoint launched a new solution for testing user experience on cellular devices, with the ability to connect multiple devices over the air to try out mobile hotspot capabilities, voice over LTE, video streaming and other common functionality. IQcell is aimed at original equipment manufacturers trying to identify root causes of issues with devices returned by customers so that device OEMs and carriers can more quickly figure out what’s wrong and decide whether devices can be repaired or should be replaced.
– The University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability Lab will host the first test event for the Ethernet Alliance’s power over Ethernet (PoE) certification program between Oct. 2-6 in Durham, N.C. Results from the test event can be used to apply for PoE certification of interoperability under IEEE 802.3 PoE specifications.
