Telstra comes out on top in mobile benchmarks

Telstra has again come out in front in the second annual CommsDay P3 Mobile Benchmark test.

The testing, conducted by telecom journal CommsDay and mobile benchmarking company P3 communications, found that Telstra was ahead of the pack in almost all categories.

Benchmarks of smartphone voice and data performance across the country analysed performance based on metrics including voice call quality, success rates, file upload and download speeds, and mobile video performance.

"CommsDay congratulates Telstra on retaining its number one position in this year's benchmark," CommsDay Group Editorial Director Petroc Wilton said.

"But all the operators should be recognised for the impressive improvements from last year's benchmark — they've all made big investments in their networks over the last 12 months, and the like-for-like comparison really shows the results."

Optus was in second place, achieving a good result in most tested areas, and Vodafone came in a strong third with major improvements in stability, particularly in metropolitan testing.

Vodafone has meanwhile revealed plans to implement voice over LTE (VoLTE) on its network starting in December.

Unlike older mobile standards, LTE is primarily a data standard. Without VoLTE, 4G networks require mobile connections to fall back to an older 2G and 3G network to make and route voice calls. This process is known as circuit-switched fallback.

But VoLTE involves sending and receiving calls using LTE data packets, allowing smartphones to stay connected to the 4G network. This also provides benefits including shorter call set-up times and longer battery life and video calling, and enables the implementation of technologies such as high-definition voice calls (HD voice).

Vodafone has announced it will activate VoLTE via an over-the-air upgrade to compatible devices. CTO Benoit Hanssen said the move is the first step to moving all the operator's voice traffic onto 4G.

"We're continuing to invest heavily in our network to bring further enhancements, with seamless voice over Wi-Fi one of the next features our customers can look forward to in the near future," he said.

Pictured: Telstra Tower in Canberra, courtesy of J.Mohr_photography under CC