Telstra retains 'Best in Test' title

The P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark Australia measures Vodafone, Telstra and Optus networks against each other and relative to their own scores from last year's report. The report is issued by telco journal CommsDay and independent consulting, engineering and services testing company P3 communications.

The benchmark is now in its second year and measures smartphone voice and data peformance based on extensive testing Australia-wide, from major metropolitan areas through to smaller regional areas and connecting highways. Among the metrics are voice call quality, success rates, file upload and download speeds, website access and SD/HD mobile video performance.

P3 communications developed new technology that enabled this year's test route to include an expanded measurement area representing around 70% of the Australian population, up from about 50% in 2014.

Telstra, the winner of the inaugural benchmark last year, has once again achieved the best score in almost all categories. "Its consistently excellent performance for voice and data — both in major metro areas and more regional locations — kept it clearly on top of the scoreboard," according to the report.

Optus followed with a very good result in most areas, and stood out especially with its data performance on the highways. Vodafone put in a strong third-place showing, with huge improvements in terms of stability. It did particularly well in metropolitan testing, where the company has concentrated its network investments — resulting in high-end speeds that were some of the fastest under test.

The 2015 benchmark uses an updated scoring model but, to enable a like-for-like comparison from year to year, P3 also ran the 2014 test data through the new model. The results clearly reflect the significant investments made by all three operators in new technologies and additional resources to upgrade and expand their networks.