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O2 details network upgrade program
jabbamk1
Posts: 8,942 Forum Member
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O2 UK has confirmed that it's 4G services are now live in 191 towns and cities across the UK reaching 20m people. The official outdoor coverage percentage for 4G is now at 41%. An increase over the 32% that O2 quoted at the end of February.
O2's 4G roll out seems to be going smoothly so far. EE were slightly ahead in the same time frame with over 50% population coverage. It's good to see O2 finally investing a bit more in 3G upgrades by bringing it to 200 new locations. Maybe we can finally have all 4 networks equal in terms of 2G/3G coverage soon.
Since its 4G launch in August 2013, O2 has amassed over one million 4G customers. Those customers used more data in the 4G network’s first six months than the entire O2 network carried between 2000 and 2008, demonstrating the unprecedented demand for fast and seamless data services.
The announcement comes as O2 sheds light on its ambitious nationwide network modernisation programme – one of the largest infrastructure improvement projects taking place in the UK today. Around 25% of O2’s 2G and 3G masts will be upgraded by the end of 2014 in order to deliver an increase in call quality and all round network experience, improving both call and data connectivity at peak times and in high-density areas.
The comprehensive upgrade work, completed on an area-by-area basis, covers a range of modernisation techniques. Sites are assessed individually and key components are refreshed or replaced, including fibre connections, radio equipment, remote monitoring devices and antennas.
O2 has also committed to investing an additional £16m to bring data coverage to places that have never had it before. Over 200 areas across the UK will get their first taste of 3G data coverage from O2 this year. This will open up possibilities for both customers and businesses to access data on the move, such as mobile email and internet browsing, for which they’ve previously relied on Wifi connections.
O2's 4G roll out seems to be going smoothly so far. EE were slightly ahead in the same time frame with over 50% population coverage. It's good to see O2 finally investing a bit more in 3G upgrades by bringing it to 200 new locations. Maybe we can finally have all 4 networks equal in terms of 2G/3G coverage soon.
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I think the 32% was indoor (corresponding outdoor coverage was 38%).
So we now have claimed outdoor 41% / indoor 33% compared with the previous 38% outdoor, 32% indoor.
Good point, thanks for pointing that out.
Got confused between the two there.
And on to less than helpful numbers, it seems they now claim 191 towns and cities so have officially overtaken EE on 187 towns and cities. It might help that you can define a town and whether it's covered any way you please.
http://news.o2.co.uk/?press-release=o2-4g-reaches-a-third-of-the-uk-population-as-network-modernisation-programme-is-unveiled
There's going to be quite a transformation once they fix older legacy sites I'd expect, as I'm still to this day sitting at home mostly on GPRS or EDGE, and not 4G. It doesn't take much for it to go from 4G to 2G and then NEVER switch back.
This isn't good enough.
For reasons such as this I really think RootMetrics should implement some sort of tab on the map to select how far back you want to go with historical data. (E.g. 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1y, 2y etc)
The only reason for this (that I can think of) is the towns in between (i.e. Four Marks, Alresford) don't have train stations! Does that seem likely?!?
I always wondered why (when 3G has more capacity) on Vodafone around here if I lose the 3G signal, it switches to 2G, and in about 80% of cases, I have to airplane mode on/off to get it to switch back to 3G.
I can understand in 2004 having more 2G than 3G capacity, but in 2014 ?
I still see Vodafone and O2's networks as 2G networks with 3G added on, hence the sticking to 2G issue.
Whereas, EE and Three's networks are 3G, with 2G just as an extra (not really, but that's the best way I can explain it).
If you look at the coverage maps for example, O2/Vodafone have 2G coverage that is much better than their 3G, but if you look at EE's coverage maps, the 2G and 3G coverage is identical (3G is even better than 2G in some places).
It wouldn't surprise me if that's true at least around here. I can now apparently get Vodafone 3G, but the data speeds are such that I wonder if they're still using some ancient legacy GSM backhaul (if that's even possible), like an E1 or something.
Even O2 manage to be better when I'm closer to the major road where one of their few 3G cells exists - 15Mbps+. 3/EE give a stonking 25Mbps easy almost all the time.
That said Vodafone launched HD voice recently after several people who pretend to be knowledgeable said they would either never do so or wouldn't be anytime soon. And O2 run over the same edge infrastructure, so how hard can it be?
My mum uses Vodafone via Talkmobile and I enabled data and it went straight to 2G despite me being in a window where I can see the mast. It stuck there for minutes. She thought that was the norm.
If it's not the codec that is the problem what does cause it to sound so awful then out of curiosity ?
Honestly the voice quality and lack of decent data connection has always put me of O2 with the later getting fixed as we speak over next 1-3 years. If the former could get fixed I may actually consider switching to them.
Is this the first step of a mast share with o2? They have this deal don't they to share sites?
I was saying on a thread here about the other day about Vodafone 4G network slowly working their way down the M4 corridor towards Bristol and Cardiff and made a comment about Voda having coverage in the middle of nowhere near Royal Wootton Bassett and today when I looked at o2 4G coverage map they have the exact the same middle of nowhere 4G.
So it would appear their sharing something here but could of course be a coincidence.
As if its 4G upgrade won't they need to install new cabinates? That would surly have to be on the application? This just mentions the mast.
Extending the mast - sometimes happens during the sharing process, yes. Sometimes doesn't.
Do you have a link to the PA?
This is the one that I saw today attached to the lamp post near the mast.
Out of interest what does a "streetworks" mast actually look like? 17.5m sounds high to be next to a houses on a road.
http://qasdfdsaq.com/images/masts/IMG_5664c.jpg is an example of a pair of O2/VF "streetworks" masts. Left is an old, shared 3G mast, right is a new, shared 4G mast.
Those particular examples are 15m. 17.5m would be taller but not by a huge amount. There's a few around Edinburgh that used to be 12.5m but are being replaced with 17.5m units but I don't have any pictures and they're not on streetview.