Network analyst firm Streetwave and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) in England have published an updated map and analysis of 4G and 5G mobile broadband coverage and speeds across the region using bin lorries. The results found that EE provided the best performance on 88% of roads surveyed.
Streetwave works by harnessing waste bin (refuse) collection lorries to map mobile network coverage and data speeds across various parts of the UK (e.g. here, here, here, here and here). In this setup, refuse trucks are installed with several off-the-shelf Smartphones using special software, which run continuous network tests (once every 20 metres in rural areas and 5m in urban areas) as the vehicles go around their routes.
The data they collect is often then used by local authorities to help identify areas that may require additional intervention in order to improve local mobile coverage and or network capacity, while also giving locals access to some of this data via address-based coverage checkers and interactive maps (https://app.streetwave.co/coverage-checker/). South Yorkshire first publish a map for all this last year – covering around 5,900km of roads.
However, the study has continued and Streetwave conducted a second round of tests between January and August 2026. The overall results were then split down by ‘Good Performance‘ – defined as the percentage of locations surveyed where a user receives at least 5Mbps download, 1.5Mbps upload speeds and less than 100ms latency (RTT) – allowing most use cases like HD video streaming or conference calls to be run.
Across the latest survey, all four networks provided Good Performance on 53% of the roads surveyed, while nearly 6% of roads had no network delivering Good Performance. SYMCA said they will use the latest evidence to identify priority areas, support stronger investment cases and encourage targeted network improvements.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said:
“Digital connectivity isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. We all rely on it, whether we’re accessing public services, running a business or just staying in touch with friends and family.
But too many of us in South Yorkshire are still dealing with mobile ‘not spots’, where the signal we rely on is patchy or non-existent. I know how frustrating that can be.
By using our bin lorries to map coverage, we’ve now got the evidence to show where the problems are and where improvements are needed.
I want everyone in South Yorkshire to be able to rely on a decent mobile signal. So, we’ll use what we’ve learned to push mobile operators for better coverage and help make the case for investment where it’s needed most.”
