CHIP network test 2018: Swiss networks storm the mobile summit

As the CHIP network test 2018 shows, Swiss network operators put themselves in front positions: Swiss mobile networks have catapulted back to the top of the DACH range. This is shown by the measurements carried out by the test engineers of NET CHECK on behalf of CHIP.

As in the previous year, Swisscom (score of 1.2) maintained first place in a close neck-and-neck race with Sunrise (1.3). Bronze winner Salt (1.7) improves significantly on 2017, but cannot catch up any further without the implementation of Voice over LTE (VoLTE). In a direct country comparison, Swisscom and Sunrise rank ahead of the test winners Deutsche Telekom in third place and Austria's A1 in fourth place.

Telephony: almost perfect
Sunrise scores with particularly fast call set-up and good voice quality. At the city hotspots, the NET-CHECK engineers registered virtually no errors when setting up calls. Even during the most difficult test scenario "train journey" all three Swiss networks shine. Modern repeaters are installed in the long-distance trains, so that there is hardly any difference to reception in the cities.

Sunrise stands out negatively with an increased error rate of 3.3 percent for abandoned calls, but the value is still significantly below that of O2 in Germany with 14 percent - the taillight in the DACH area.

Swisscom (97.8) emerged as the winner of the "Telephony" subcategory with a narrow margin ahead of Sunrise (95.3 out of 100 points). The score is made up of voice quality (12.5%), successful call setup (31.25%), stability (37.5%) and duration of call setup.

Internet: constantly excellent
When it comes to file downloads or calling up websites and services such as Facebook, all networks perform very well - including third-placed Salt. There is no clear winner in the "Mobile Internet" sub-rating, as Swisscom and Sunrise are only 0.01 points apart. In terms of downloads, market leader Swisscom impresses with high transfer rates even under poor conditions.

Ten percent of all Swisscom downloads are faster than 155 MBit/s. Sunrise, on the other hand, provides the fastest web surfing. When uploading a photo to Facebook and accessing a live stream from YouTube, Swiss customers benefit from the equivalent top level of their networks. Unlike in German and Austrian cities, there is no discernible problem in the Alpine Republic with high network utilization in heavily frequented central locations.

Here, Swisscom and Sunrise once again improved noticeably compared to the previous year. In the case of the mobile phone provider Salt, the NET-CHECK experts noted an unusual rural-urban divide: the download values were better on the connecting roads than in the cities. Overall, excellent results for the mobile Internet can be acknowledged: When downloading and uploading test files as well as calling up websites, NET CHECK measured a success rate of 99 percent.

Best LTE network: split first place
LTE mobile technology is much more powerful than the conventional networks in 3G and 2G technology. Therefore, CHIP evaluates separately which provider operates the best 4G mobile network. This time there is a split first place for Switzerland. The results of Swisscom and Sunrise are so close together that there is no clear winner. Salt can't score. The network operator does not allow customers to make calls via the LTE turbo radio - and a good VoLTE offer counts for 20 percent of the LTE score.

The Swiss network operators pay well for the nationwide outstanding quality: The majority of consumers spend more than 40 francs (approx. 34 euros) per month - almost a third even 80 francs (approx. 68 euros). "For this, the customers receive mobile phone contracts with a "real" flat rate and thus without volume limits," concludes Wolfgang Pauler, head of testing at CHIP.

From Lake Geneva to Graubünden
The specialists from NET CHECK covered over 9200 kilometres for the Network Test Switzerland 2018. The drive teams drove with special test cars on motorways and country roads throughout the entire republic. Seven large cities (Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Lucerne and St. Gallen), eleven medium-sized and 21 small towns were traversed by the walk teams with practical backpack testing systems. They covered a total of 400 kilometres on foot. The city hotspots showed how well the networks work when they have to supply many users at the same time. In addition, the measurement engineers traveled about 1,730 kilometers by train to put phone calls and mobile surfing in long-distance trains under the microscope.

You can find further information and the complete test results at chip.de/network_test_ch.