Internet mobile

© UFC-Que Choisir

Queldébit highlights the unacceptable digital divide

While having a quality mobile internet is an imperative for consumers, UFC-Que Choisir, on the basis of tests carried out by users of the free Queldébit application (iOS, Android) denounces today the extent of the digital divide, hitting rural areas hard and which is getting stronger with the development of 5G. Given the findings, the UFC-Que Choisir urges the public authorities to finally impose on operators to offer real broadband wherever mobile coverage is allegedly provided. The association also invites consumers to continue the mobilization to continue to shed light on the true quality of mobile Internet, by downloading Queldébit for free.

Queldébit: the ally for transparency on the quality of mobile networks

To counter the marketing campaigns of operators boasting amazing speeds, the association decided to develop the free and participatory mobile application Queldébit. This application allows all consumers to test their mobile connection, anywhere, in order to clearly qualify it on a quality scale ranging from 0 to 10. Launched last year, and already adopted by nearly 50,000 people, Queldébit enables in addition to UFC-Que Choisir, on the basis of the results compiled by users, to establish indicators making it possible to provide transparency on the quality of mobile networks at the national and regional levels.

In 4G, 32% of consumers deprived of “good broadband” in rural areas

4G is still widely used by consumers, since more than 95% of the data collected by Queldébit is collected with this technology. If this is not surprising (5G being generally more expensive than 4G and its use requiring the purchase of a compatible phone), the analysis of the actual quality of 4G is worrying. Indeed, the figures from the field highlight an extremely marked territorial inequality, since in urban areas the average speeds are 66% higher than in rural areas (55.3 Mbit/s against 33.3 Mbit/s).

Based on an in-depth analysis of more than 5 million pieces of data (1), UFC-Que Choisir is able to show that these averages mask significant disparities, and that for many consumers access to the mobile internet is simply chimerical. Thus, 14.3% of speeds recorded are less than 3 Mbit/s, the minimum speed for accessing basic mobile Internet services, such as web browsing, in barely decent conditions. As for “good broadband”, defined by Emmanuel Macron as a speed at least equal to 8 Mbit/s, it is not reached in 25% of cases at the national level, and even in 32% of cases in rural areas! The digital divide, far from being a myth, is therefore affecting large parts of the country. How to accept this situation, when having a quality connection is more than ever a necessity?

5G: a factor aggravating the digital divide?

Although the limited number of 5G tests does not allow definitive judgments to be made on its contributions, field data show that it does not make it possible to resolve the digital divide, and even worsens it. Indeed, while the performance gain is spectacular in large and medium-sized cities (in the latter the average speed increases from 42.3 Mbit/s in 4G to 234.1 Mbit/s in 5G). Conversely, in rural areas the qualitative leap could not be more marginal, since the 5G speed is only 1.5 times greater than in 4G. As a result, 5G really benefits areas where 4G is already the most qualitative, which further widens the inequalities between French people. Never has the mobile internet digital divide been so pronounced.

Not accepting that nearly 10 years after the launch of 4G, high-quality broadband still remains unrealistic for many consumers, UFC-Que Choisir calls on the public authorities to finally impose on operators a minimum quality of service allowing use the mobile Internet in good conditions, wherever mobile coverage is supposedly guaranteed.

The association is also calling on consumers once again to get involved by downloading the Queldébit application from the Google Play Store and the App Store, both so that they can check the quality of their mobile connection but also and above all, by multiplying the tests in various places (home, office, shopping, transport, etc.), to collectively participate in highlighting the true quality of mobile networks, everywhere in the territory.

The applications are directly downloadable via the following links:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.qosi.quechoisir&hl=fr

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/queld%C3%A9bit-3g-4g-5g-wifi/id1521209451

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Ratings

(1) Collected between December ¹ , 2020 and November 30, 2021. Details on the technical elements of this data collection are specified in the complete file.