Coverage Map vs Fiber Color ID
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Coverage Map
This app provides a crowdsourced map of cellular network performance and coverage across the US, Canada, UK, and Puerto Rico. Users can view real-time speed test data, compare carrier performance, and check signal strength in specific areas. It also includes a built-in speed test to contribute to the map.
- Crowdsourced speed test map
- Real-time performance data
- Download, upload, and latency details
- Carrier and network type filters
- Built-in speed test functionality
- Signal strength mapping (US only)
- Data-driven coverage reports (US only)
Read full descriptionHide full description
Coverage Map helps you find the #1 cell phone carrier in your area. It is a crowdsourced map of cellular networks in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico with more countries launching soon. SPEED TEST MAP (All Countries) • Highly accurate: see real-world performance reported by users • Real-time: map updates in real-time as new data comes in • Rich detail: tap any square to see download speeds, upload speeds, and latency for all carriers in that area • Powerful filters: filter by carrier, LTE/5G, download speeds, upload speeds, or see your speed tests only • Helpful color profiles: default, heat map, and best carrier help you visualize and understand the data • Easy to understand: see what carrier performs best in an area at a glance with the Best Carrier color profile BUILT-IN SPEED TEST (All Countries) • Test your speeds: see how fast your LTE or 5G connection is by running a speed test • Accurate results: get accurate results for download speed, upload speed, and latency • Recurring tests: run up to 500 recurring tests automatically and customize the pause duration between tests • Set a data limit: limit how much data the app can use • Tag your tests: tag a test as indoor, outdoor, driving, or other • Improve the Speed Map: running a speed test automatically contributes to the fastest-growing crowdsourced map of cellular networks (note: if your country is not currently supported, when we do launch in your country all of your tests will instantly be mapped and will show up on the map) SIGNAL STRENGTH MAP (US only) • Check reception: see where each carrier has great, good, or poor coverage • Compare coverage footprints: toggle between carriers to see how coverage footprints compare in different areas • Data for every location: the Signal Strength Map uses data from the FCC Broadband Collection, which has coverage data for the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii COVERAGE REPORT MAP (US only) • Data-driven reports: the Coverage Report Map aggregates all available data points to generate detailed reports of cellular coverage & performance in every state, county, city, and ZIP code • Percentage covered: see what percentage of an area each carrier covers • Weighted median: see weighted median values for download speed, upload speeds, and latency for a better picture of real-world cellular performance • Carrier rankings: see what carrier ranks best for coverage, speed, reliability, and overall performance in every area • Distribution graphs: see the distribution graphs for download speeds, upload speeds, and latency • Performance by time of day: see how data speeds vary over the course of day as network traffic picks up Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: https://coveragemap.com/privacy-policy
Fiber Color ID
Instantly convert fiber optic cable numbers to their corresponding colors and vice versa. This tool provides detailed information on tube/ribbon position, colors, and markings, supporting various international standards and custom configurations. It works offline and is designed for field technicians.
- Convert fiber number to color
- Convert color to fiber number
- Supports international color standards
- Customizable cable configurations
- Offline functionality
- Detailed cable visualization
Read full descriptionHide full description
Fiber Color ID turns a fiber number into a color, and a color back into a fiber number. Built by a CFOT-certified fiber technician for splicers, OSP technicians and engineers who need the right answer in a handhole, not a spreadsheet back at the office. WORKS BOTH WAYS - Enter a fiber number and get its tube or ribbon, its position in that unit, and both colors with the marking. - Or pick the colors and markings you can actually see on the fiber and get the fiber number back. THE WHOLE CABLE ON ONE CHART - Every tube or ribbon is a row, every position a column, and every cell carries that fiber's number in the cable. Zoom from a 12 out to a 6,912. - Tap a tube and a position and the crosshair lands on the fiber. DASHES OR BINDER THREADS, YOUR CALL Above 12 fibers in a tube, manufacturers mark the repeat in different ways. Some print dashes on the fiber. Others group the fibers under colored binder threads and restart the colors under each thread. Tell the app which your cable uses (dashes, threads or both) and how many fibers sit under each thread. Threads start out wrapping one full run of the colors (12 on a TIA cable), and one tap switches to dashes. COLOR STANDARDS BY COUNTRY TIA-598-D (USA) is the default. DIN VDE 0888 (Germany), S12 (Sweden), FIN 2012 (Finland) and Type E (Televerket / Ericsson) are built in, and so is TIA-598-D-1's 16-color scheme for units of 16, labeled as an alternative, with optional colors for tubes 13-16. The app never guesses which one your cable follows. You pick it, and it remembers. WHEN THE CABLE FOLLOWS NO STANDARD A manufacturer with its own order, a cable old enough that nobody publishes its color code any more. Build the sequence yourself, up to 17 positions, including a natural uncolored fiber and the four added TIA colors. Name the colors the way your crew says them. Set which color the repeat marking is printed in. The app does the arithmetic off your sequence, labels every answer as yours, and one tap puts you back on the standard without deleting anything. Share a sequence with the crew as a short block of text. Importing is free. BUILT FOR REAL CABLE - Loose tube and ribbon construction. - Standard counts from 6 up to 6,912 fibers. - Custom cable counts and custom tube or ribbon sizes for non-standard builds. - Every fiber in the unit drawn out with yours ringed, so you can check the app against what is in your hand. WORKS WITH NO SIGNAL Every answer is arithmetic done on your device against color tables built into the app. No account, no sign-in, no network connection. It works in a vault, a manhole, a splice trailer, or anywhere else with no bars. NO ADS, NO TRACKING No advertising and no analytics. The app does not collect information about you or about what you look up. FREE AND PAID Free covers standard loose-tube cables up to 144 fibers and importing a sequence someone else built. Country standards and the dashes-or-threads setting are never locked, because a wrong color is a wrong splice. There is no trial clock. A single one-time purchase unlocks ribbon mode, custom tube and ribbon sizes, counts above 144, the interactive cable chart, and building and exporting your own color sequences. It is priced for the cables a preset color card cannot handle: a high-count ribbon cable, a tube size nobody printed a card for, a sequence your crew had to work out by hand. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel. If the store cannot be reached, an unlock already recorded on your device keeps working. WHAT IS STANDARD, AND WHAT IS CONVENTION Colors follow TIA-598-D unless you choose a country standard or define your own. How the repeat is marked above 12 fibers, and what the markings look like past a double dash, varies by manufacturer and product; where there is no published rule, the app says so rather than guessing. Where your cable sheet disagrees with the app, trust the cable sheet, and please send us the cable structure so we can look at it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Coverage Map at none against Fiber Color ID's 1. Coverage Map also leads on ratings volume (813 vs 4). Fiber Color ID's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Fiber Color ID sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Coverage Map asks for nothing beyond the download.
Fiber Color ID holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Coverage Map has 813 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Coverage Map ships an update fortnightly, Fiber Color ID every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Coverage Map | Fiber Color ID |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (813 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 813 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Coverage Map LLC | Practical Byte Apps LLC |
Customer experience
Coverage Map
Fiber Color ID
Bugs and requests
Coverage Map
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes when viewing maps
- Speed test failures and timeouts
- Inconsistent speed test results
- Incorrect location detection
Requested features
5 requests- Low data mode
- Offline coverage map downloads
- Ability to set test duration and frequency
- Display cell tower locations
- Expand to international coverage
Fiber Color ID
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Coverage Map
No in-app purchases
Fiber Color ID
- Pro Unlock$19.99
Questions
Is Coverage Map free?
Is Fiber Color ID free?
Which has better reviews, Coverage Map or Fiber Color ID?
Do Coverage Map or Fiber Color ID have ads?
Which is updated more often, Coverage Map or Fiber Color ID?
Other comparisons















