Bosses at The Silent Woman, in Wareham Forest, Dorset, believe it will encourage punters to enjoy the company of their family and friends.

They say it will also stop other customers being annoyed by a constant stream of phone call chatter.

The pub will provide the prision like boxes, where customers will lock their phones for the duration of their meal.

‘No Phone Zone’ is being trialled until December 30th 2021 and customers agreeing to it will receive 50 per cent off their bill.

A study carried out by mobile network testing company Global Wireless Solutions found that 71 per cent of Brits use their phones at the dinner table to check social media feeds, message family or friends, or take photos of their food.

The study also showed that eight in 10 people who admitted to using their phones while dining also get irritated when they see others doing the same.

A spokesman for the pub said: “The last 18 months have been tough for us all, and the team at the pub pride themselves on creating those special moments around the table.

“We looked at various ways we could encourage people to engage more at the dinner table, and we’ve found giving families the chance to part with their devices for a mere couple of hours is a great way to bring them closer and embrace family time.

“So, with this December set to be even more special than usual, make every moment count, and make up for all those moments lost by celebrating the Christmas season at The Silent Woman, phone free!”

The post NO PHONE ZONE Pub Offers Customers 50% OFF If They LOCK Their Phones Away During Their Meal appeared first on GWS.

According to the findings from mobile network benchmarking company Global Wireless Solutions, 71% of people use their phones when dining out to check social media feeds, message family or friends, take photos of their food, browse the internet and other activities.

But apparently there are ‘two sets of rules’ as eight in 10 people who admit to using their phones while dining also get irritated when they see others doing the same. In fact, overall, certain phone activities make up six of the top 10 most irritating dining habits.

The nationwide survey of Brits’ phone habits when in public places revealed that we are increasingly reliant on our devices and have certain expectations, particularly when dining out, as nine in 10 do not have the patience to wait longer than usual for a call to connect or webpage to load when in a restaurant. Demand for fast connection is higher in restaurants than in other locations where more people are willing to wait longer for their network to perform, such as on a train, in the car, in a supermarket, or even at home.

Top 10 most irritating habits when in restaurants

1. Someone talking loudly on their mobile phone at the table next to you
2. When a dining companion is on their phone messaging or browsing social media
3. When children are too noisy
4. When parents give their phones to children to watch videos
5. When people take lots of selfies on their phone
6. When people show too much PDA at the table
7. When people take photos of their food
8. When camera phone flashes go off frequently
9. When people use a toothpick at the table
10. When people insist on moving tables or chairs to accommodate their party

The post More Phones Means More Irritation, Study Finds appeared first on GWS.

GWS’ nationwide survey of Brits’ phone habits when in public places revealed that we are increasingly reliant on our devices and have certain expectations, particularly when dining out, as 9 in 10 do not have the patience to wait longer than usual for a call to connect or webpage to load when in a restaurant. Demand for fast connection is higher here than in other locations where more people are willing to wait longer for their network to perform, such as on a train, in the car, in a supermarket, or even at home.

But while we demand the best from our phones when dining out, seeing other diners on their device irritates Brits – at the top of the list of restaurant annoyances is people ‘talking loudly on their phone when at the table next to you.’ Following this, 41% find it irritating when fellow diners browse social media feeds or message others, and 29% dislike seeing others take selfies. Interestingly, a quarter of people get most irritated when they see people taking photos of their food, which is one of the top activities that people cite using their phones for when dining out.

However, it’s not only phones that rank highly in the league of restaurant annoyances – 39% say they are irritated by noisy children, and over a quarter (25%) are irritated by too much ‘PDA’ at the table. This rises with women as 30% find PDA annoying compared to just 19% of men. The gender divide continues in other areas as more men admit to using their phones for work when in a restaurant (14%), compared to just 8% of women. When it comes to noisy children though, Brits of both genders are grateful for smartphone parenting– nearly two thirds of those surveyed are ok with parents giving their phones to children as a distraction.

Figure 1. Top 10 most irritating habits when in restaurants

Dr Paul Carter, CEO of GWS said: “Whether screen-time at meal-time is to your taste or not, there’s no denying it’s become a normal part of life. Rather than only being used for ‘critical communications’ such as checking emails or answering emergency calls, we’re seeing people reliant on a connection to carry out a range of activities which are becoming more socially acceptable, even when eating. 1 in 10 even go so far as to say that they would leave a restaurant early if they couldn’t make calls or browse the internet. But with people admitting that seeing and hearing others on their phones annoys them, they seem to be applying double standards”.

“We test network performance in the places where people use their devices the most – with restaurants coming up high on the list. Like it or loathe it, it’s clear that social etiquette is changing, and people will continue to use their phones wherever they are. When it comes to network reliability and speed, people want to be served now – just like they do when dining out. That’s why operators should continue to invest to improve coverage and develop the networks in the places where people use their phones the most, including at the dinner table.”

The results build on from tests that GWS conducted last month which revealed the mobile network performance inside and outside the most popular Instagrammable restaurants in London. The results based on scientific testing around real-life usage showcased that O2 and EE had the highest number of successful call attempts in restaurants and O2 also had the highest data success rate for uploading and downloading files successfully. For more information see here.

Methodology and notes to editors

GWS’ nationwide poll of 2,000 mobile-phone wielding UK adults was conducted by OnePoll. Fieldwork took place from 7^th to 15^th May 2019. OnePoll are members of ESOMAR and employ members of the MRS.

About Global Wireless Solutions, Inc.

Global Wireless Solutions, Inc. defines the industry standard for network benchmarking, analysis and testing. Working with some of the world’s largest wireless network providers, GWS offers standardised, high-quality network data and engineering analysis through a suite of benchmarking products, services, and OneMeasure diagnostic apps that includes drive, venue, and in-building testing. Founded in 1996, GWS is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. At last count, GWS has driven more than 12.5 million data collection miles for its customers. For more information, visit www.gwsolutions.com and follow us on Twitter at @gwsolutionsinc.

Media Contact
Megan Hughes-Evans/Edward Butterfield
Diffusion PR
+44 (0)207 291 0238
[email protected]

The post Double standards: Study reveals nearly three quarters of people use their phones at the dinner table, but are irritated by others doing the same appeared first on GWS.

The study also showed that eight in 10 people who admitted to using their phones while dining also get irritated when they see others doing the same.

GWS conducted a nationwide survey of Brits’ phone habits in public places and seeing other diners on their devices was the second-biggest annoyance. The British Public’s biggest annoyance was someone talking loudly on their mobile phones at the table next to you.

The study suggested that nine in 10 Brits do not have the patience to wait longer than usual for a call to connect or webpage to load when in a restaurant. Demand for fast connection is higher in restaurants than in other locations where people are willing to wait longer such as on a train, in the car or even at home.

CEO of GWS Paul Carter said: Whether screen-time at meal-time is to your taste or not, there’s no denying it’s become a normal part of life.

“Rather than only being used for ‘critical communications’ such as checking emails or answering emergency calls, we’re seeing people reliant on a connection to carry out a range of activities which are becoming more socially acceptable, even when eating.

“One in 10 even go so far as to say that they would leave a restaurant early if they couldn’t make calls or browse the internet.

“But with people admitting that seeing and hearing others on their phones annoys them, they seem to be applying double standards.”

The post Study reveals nearly three-quarters of Brits use their phones at the dinner table appeared first on GWS.

The study also showed that eight in 10 people who admitted to using their phones while dining also get irritated when they see others doing the same.

GWS conducted a nationwide survey of Brits’ phone habits in public places and seeing other diners on their devices was the second-biggest annoyance. The British Public’s biggest annoyance was someone talking loudly on their mobile phones at the table next to you.

The study suggested that nine in 10 Brits do not have the patience to wait longer than usual for a call to connect or webpage to load when in a restaurant. Demand for fast connection is higher in restaurants than in other locations where people are willing to wait longer such as on a train, in the car or even at home.

CEO of GWS Paul Carter said: Whether screen-time at meal-time is to your taste or not, there’s no denying it’s become a normal part of life.

“Rather than only being used for ‘critical communications’ such as checking emails or answering emergency calls, we’re seeing people reliant on a connection to carry out a range of activities which are becoming more socially acceptable, even when eating.

“One in 10 even go so far as to say that they would leave a restaurant early if they couldn’t make calls or browse the internet.

“But with people admitting that seeing and hearing others on their phones annoys them, they seem to be applying double standards.”

The post Study reveals nearly three quarters of Brits use their phones at the dinner table appeared first on GWS.

The post Connectivity ‘not spots’ ruin OOH experiences appeared first on GWS.

The company which likes to roam the world with a backpack full of Samsungs is GWS. It’s a tough life, but GWS’ team of engineers spent a month going to some of the smartest restaurants in London evaluating mobile network signals.

They visited  50 popular and Instagrammable dining establishments, The research collected of just over 47,000 voice and data samples and found “not-spots,” particularly in tourist hotspots. Results were ranked using GWS’ OneScore evaluation process, a measurement of overall performance that takes into account voice, data, video, coverage, and reliability metrics based on customer experience.

The findings on eateries’ coverage leave a bad taste, with over a fifth of people saying that they have been “forced to leave the table” because they thought getting a signal more important than staying with the person they were dining with.

This one is hard to call. On one side, when all the mobile networks are insistent that coverage in the U.K. is great there really shouldn’t be an issue with making a call in a London restaurant, and on the other, is it a good thing to encourage?

People clearly want it. Like the gym research, GWS looked at the human side of coverage as well as the radio propagation.  GWS used its OneScore technology and found more than a tenth of the people they surveyed said their meal had been “ruined” by poor Wi-Fi.  Most people say they cannot rely on restaurants’ Wi-Fi coverage with just 18% expecting all restaurants to offer free WiFi as standard. Using mobiles O2 and Vodafone work best inside the restaurants GWS tested.

There is, of course, the food snap to Instagram which is the amuse bouche to any meal. Over a quarter (26%) internet browse the internet at the dinner table and 23% cite Instagram and Facebook, as part of their dining habits, yet the same percentage (26%) have been frustrated by slow connections. The shock news is many diners are unable to use their phone at all with over a fifth (23%) saying that they have been forced to go outside the restaurant because of a lack of reliable signal. Worse, more than one in ten (11%) said that their experience in a restaurant had been ruined due to poor mobile connectivity.

Top tables for bottom service

The places where GWS OneScore rankings show coverage is great include Chojo, Berners Tavern, Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings, Knife Restaurant and Riding House Café, whereas many restaurants in Soho and the W1 area fall short, landing more towards the bottom end of the table. Sometimes this is due to the restaurant being subterranean, such as Brasserie Zedel, which led to many failed calls and data tasks across all of the U.K. networks.

Height can be a problem too with the Duck and Waffle on the 40^th floor of Heron Tower, and Darwin Brasserie at the Sky Garden located on the 36^th floor failing to be high quality in mobile service.

Which is ironic, as Vodafone chose the Sky Garden for its 5G launch. Unsurprisingly, network operators are challenged in providing wireless service high above the typical rooftop levels and below ground.

The post Best And Worst London Restaurants For Mobile Coverage Ranked appeared first on GWS.

One in ten Brits have seen their dining experience ruined by poor mobile connectivity.

This is according to research carried out by benchmarking company Global Wireless Solutions (GWS), which surveyed more than 2,000 UK adults on their mobile experiences when dining out.

Nearly a third (29 per cent) of respondents said they took pictures while dining out, with 21 per cent admitting to taking shots of a restaurant’s interiors.

However, poor mobile signals led just over a quarter (26 per cent) to complain of inadequate indoor service, with 23 per cent of respondents forced to go outside for reliable coverage.

Testing signals across 50 London restaurants, GWS found that O2 and Vodafone performed the best among operators.

The company discovered that many restaurants in Soho struggled, along with high-rise locations.

O2 and Vodafone were the joint- best for quickest upload speeds in the top 10 restaurants for connectivity (coming top in four each), while O2 led in eight of these for fastest access to social media updates.

GWS CEO Paul Carter said: “Our phones are with us all the time, as people expect to stay connected, stay in touch and post content wherever they are.

“What’s surprising, though, is that even in areas such as London, we are still seeing weak mobile network service in popular, central locations when indoors – including many restaurants that may be designed or promoted with Instagram or social media in mind.”

The research also revealed that 18 per cent of Brits expect restaurants to offer free WiFi as standard, with a quarter unable to connect to the technology in these places.

O2 and EE recorded the best scores for successful call attempts, both at 99 per cent.

The post Dodgy Connectivity Is Spoiling People’s Food appeared first on GWS.

Paul Carter founded GWS back in 1996 and, four years later, it began nationwide mobile network benchmark testing in the US. Roughly 12 million miles of drive- and walk-testing later and it is still playing a key role in the mobile industry ecosystem, having in recent years expanded its network benchmarking portfolio to cover large events and introduced a metric to assess mobile networks based on business users’ requirements.

He says that in addition to recently testing the wireless connectivity of 30 gyms in London – inspired by the number of gym-goers who take selfies as part of their workout routine – GWS has also tested 50 of the capital’s most ‘Instagrammable’ restaurants. For these studies, the company also commissioned surveys from OnePoll to get a feel for consumers’ attitudes with regards to connectivity in both settings.

One thing about the results that Carter has been surprised by is that, while it is clear just by the way most people are on their smartphones when waiting for a train that “our devices are important to us, people are now describing their experience as being ruined if they don’t have the mobile phone experience they’re looking for to do basic things, to check their emails or to surf the internet or to share photos”.

According to the results of the survey, 18 per cent of Londoners said their restaurant dining experience has been ruined by poor mobile connectivity, and another 13 per cent said they would leave a restaurant before ordering if they didn’t have mobile service.

Carter adds that part of the issue is that “you find a lot of restaurants are in basements”, with the worst-performing restaurant being several floors below street level, while being on the 30th or 40th floor of a skyscraper also can result in poor connectivity. Gyms on the other hand suffer “ because it’s all about the exercise routine so much and not really about looking out the window; a lot of these gyms are in basements of buildings or in facilities without windows – concrete facilities that are quite challenged [from a coverage perspective] in many ways”.

In fact, GWS’s results show that mobile network coverage typically drops by 20 per cent upon entering a gym, and the same percentage of British gym-goers have felt forced to go outside to use their phones due to the poor indoor connectivity.

The promise of 5G
It’s worth noting here that while Wi-Fi might at first be the obvious answer, in practice things are a little bit more complicated. Carter says “about 23 per cent of Londoners expect restaurants to have free Wi-Fi, but only about 18 per cent of Londoners surveyed look for Wi-Fi when they dine out, and we found Wi-Fi performance to be a little bit spotty both within gyms and restaurants – in several of both, there was no Wi-Fi at all or it wasn’t working. The Wi-Fi speeds typically average roughly the same as the wireless networks, or perhaps a little bit worse. There are some cases where Wi-Fi is much better in certain restaurants, but on average you can’t necessarily rely on Wi-Fi.”

Carter stresses though that while “the promise of 5G and cell sites every few hundred metres in an urban environment is a long-term solution, there are other helpful technologies such as Voice over Wi-Fi and through advances such as Wi-Fi 6, there is the potential that seamless roaming and ubiquitous Wi-Fi will help to provide robust indoor wireless service.”

He believes it will probably take 10 years to fully deploy 5G in the UK and the US, and highlights the effort required given predictions that in the US an additional 800,000 cell sites will be required (compared with the existing 350,000 sites that have been built up over decades). Carter also anticipates that we will eventually expect cellular networks to provide five or even six 9s availability, giving autonomous vehicles as one of the 5G use-cases that will drive demand for this.

I asked him if network slicing might cause GWS’s testing methodology any issues. “It all begins with coverage and so ensuring that there’s coverage is the first step always, and so whether or not that slice is delivered to you in an optimal way or not, you still need to understand whether there’s basic performance at a certain level; most of the testing we do allows us to collect network-level engineering layer 3 information as opposed to just application-level information.” He adds: “Each new technology brings new parameters and new considerations and new network build components but, fundamentally, it’s still about delivering robust, reliable service to the end-user, and so we have to be able to measure the parameters that best represent that.”

He notes with an understandable degree of exasperation the “incredible focus” on people reporting being able to obtain 1GBps download speeds on 5G-capable devices using speed test apps in those areas where 5G has just been deployed – “but what does that really tell you?” he asks. “[In] our surveys [of] business users, people care twice as much about reliability as they do [about] speed.”

The best laid plans…
As previously mentioned, GWS has been testing network performance at large events (it has a “Event-o-Meter” programme in the US) and Carter says one of the challenges for its OneScore ranking methodology, which is based on metrics such as throughput, voice quality and reliability, is trying to compare very different events, such as a basketball game in a stadium and a Mardi Gras street festival, and this is addressed through methods such as weightings.

While there is an expectation that mobile networks will perform well at large events, “from time to time, things do get tripped up”. He highlights the 2019 Women’s March in Washington D.C. – mobile operators deployed “all sorts of temporary facilities” including cells on wheels, but “the leaders of the march suddenly [changed] the route and where they were going to meet, and [attendance was much lower than expected]. All the preparations that the operators had made [didn’t] come to nought, but it just wasn’t as expected.” He notes that one complication for events like the Super Bowl (which moves from one stadium to another) is that depending on the participating teams, the degree to which visiting fans use one mobile network operator (MNO) over another can vary, “so it’s a constant challenge for the operators”.

RF energy harvesting
While GWS may be Carter’s primary concern, it isn’t his only foray into the wireless technology market. He started another company called Aeternum (meaning ‘forever’ in Latin), which is focused on developing low-power Internet of Things-style environmental sensors that can power themselves using renewable energy (strips of solar cells) and RF energy (using a both-in-one rectifier/antenna component that Carter refers to as a ‘rectenna’). “We’re looking at the sleep mode being powered by the RF source, but solar is the main form of energy,” he adds.

As far as backhauling the data from these sensors is concerned, Carter says “we’re currently doing this with LoRaWAN, we’ve deployed a few of these in Liverpool and we’re now looking at NB-IoT on the Vodafone network”.

He explains that with environmental air quality monitoring, there is a lot of interest around being about to attribute air pollution to specific sources, given that it often ends up far from where it was created, and once the source has been identified it is then a case of identifying appropriate migration methods such as green fencing or trees. Speaking of which, trees (or rather their foliage) help to lower ambient temperatures, and Aeternum’s Hab Remote micro sensors can collect temperature data, as well as data on ambient light, noise, barometric pressure, humidity, volatile organic compounds and gases.

Carter expects that once “IoT-based access technologies are more widely available and mechanisms for (low-power) charging are better developed, there will be a significant focus on environmental measurements (such as air quality, noxious gases, and so on), particularly as city councils want to make their local areas more attractive”.

Returning to the earlier point about consumers demanding connectivity in restaurants, while this must be mortifying for chefs who would presumably prefer their clientele to be focused on their food, the highly competitive nature of the hospitality sector suggests such views must be catered for. After all, as Confucius said: better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

CV – Paul Carter
Dr. Paul Carter is president and CEO of Global Wireless Solutions (GWS), an independent benchmarking solution vendor for the wireless industry. Carter has more than 30 years’ experience in the cellular network industry. He founded GWS to provide operators with access to in-depth, accurate network benchmarking, analysis and testing. Prior to GWS, he directed business development and CDMA engineering efforts for LLC, the world’s largest independent wireless engineering company.

The post Restaurants and Gyms: The Case For Connectivity appeared first on GWS.

But as we become more and more reliant on our devices, it seems mobile connectivity has also become a key factor in where Londoners decide to eat.

In fact, just under a fifth of people in the capital say their restaurant experience has been “ruined” by poor signal, according to new research from network benchmarking firm Global Wireless Solutions (GWS).

From Soho basements to City skyscrapers, the report shows that London’s gastro scene is plagued by signal not-spots.

Brasserie Zedel in Soho and Hawksmoor Seven Dials were named and shamed as the worst offenders for poor signal, while high-rise City favourites Duck & Waffle and Darwin Brasserie Sky Garden were also surprise entrants in the bottom 10.

For diners more concerned about phones than Pho, Chojo in Notting Hill and Fitzrovia’s Berners Tavern topped the list.

If you’re hoping to stay on top of your emails at a work lunch, Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings and Plate Restaurant, Bar & Bake are just a short hop from the City.

The most reliable networks were O2 and Vodafone but, when signal is poor, it appears restaurants will need to ensure their wifi is up to scratch, as almost a quarter of Londoners said they expect free wifi access as standard.

“Even in London we are still seeing weak mobile network service in popular, central locations when indoors – including many restaurants that may be designed or promoted with Instagram or social media in mind,” said GWS chief executive Dr Paul Carter.

“Our survey shows that people actively use their phone when dining out, so if the network is slow and unreliable, and wifi is intermittent (or not working at all) then that doesn’t bode well for the hipster chic restaurants trying to make a name for themselves.”

The post Revealed: These 10 London restaurants have the best mobile signal appeared first on GWS.

The poll found that ever-increasing numbers of diners now routinely take photos and videos when sitting down to a meal out, even in the most exclusive West End restaurants.

Almost a third take pictures and a fifth record videos, mostly to be shared with followers on social media.

The practice is now so ingrained — with hashtags such as #foodie and #foodporn amassing hundreds of millions of posts on Instagram — that nearly one in seven choose their restaurants by how Instagram-able it is.

But there is also huge frustration with the quality of signal in many top restaurants with 26 per cent claiming that they have been unable to connect using mobile data when dining, and 28 per cent frustrated at slow speeds.

Astonishingly, 13 per cent said they would refuse to even order if they could not get access to their network through their phones.

The research by wireless analysts Global Wireless Solutions named Chojo in Notting Hill, Berners Tavern in Fitzrovia and Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings in Clerkenwell as the highest ranked for web connection out of central London’s 50 most photogenic restaurants.

Eateries just outside West End W1 postcodes performed better and the most reliable networks were O2 and Vodafone. Although most restaurants offer WiFi, 29 per cent of diners said they had been unable to connect. One in eight said they would not tip if staff did not know the WiFi details.

Dr Paul Carter, chief executive of GWS, said: “If the network is slow and unreliable… that doesn’t bode well for the hipster chic restaurants”.

The post Fifth of London diners say restaurants are ‘ruined’ by poor mobile reception appeared first on GWS.