Sometimes small, independent studies yield the most telling results. We already talked about Wired's testing of 3G networks across the world, but it seems GP, a Swedish tech site has also conducted a few tests of their own. And when the results are compared to that of Wired's, one conclusion could seemingly be drawn: the iPhone 3G connection issues are not due to a faulty antenna; rather, the networks are failing the phone.

The GP test involved taking the iPhone 3G to an antenna test chamber at a company called Bluetest. The results showed the iPhone 3G's antenna performs just as it should and as well as any other 3G phone on the market.

Combine that with Wired's test that showed the 3G networks are, as greghughes.net says, "woefully underperforming." So what does this all mean? 3G coverage needs to be improved. And though Apple could do something about the switch off when 3G is performing poorly and EDGE is performing well to conserve battery life and to perhaps stifle app crashes, the reception won't improve until the networks are bolstered.

[via greg hughes - dot net]