I'm guessing this must have been in the pipeline from at least early to mid last year, this explains the change on 4g strategy over to 800 rather then 1800, aligns better with the 2 companies I'd say.
I doubt this influenced Three's roll out plans. The deal isn't done yet and might not have been if anyone else had got to O2 first.
Three's current plan actually does make more sense in the long term. It's just stupid that Three wasn't more open by saying so (it still hasn't officially said anything to the media about its plans) earlier on.
Maybe all of 2014 will be put down as a 'trial'...
Clever! Capacity and coverage upgrades completed by O2 before handover and MBNL upgrades complete. Welcome to a supernetwork!
Not clever. It's just how it works.
You can't expect Three to buy and merge O2 overnight. First this deal needs to be cleared, then the merge will happen, and no doubt there will be conditions attached. In fact we all have no idea what will actually happen at all even if this deal does go ahead.
You can't expect Three to buy and merge O2 overnight. First this deal needs to be cleared, then the merge will happen, and no doubt there will be conditions attached. In fact we all have no idea what will actually happen at all even if this deal does go ahead.
Well, naturally it cant be done overnight I am not that stupid, however the timing would save alot of the leg work if o2 is all but updated. Would i be correct in saying o2 would continue to invest as they are now? Rolling out new 2/3/4G??
So a 3/o2 merger would create a good amount of spectrum for future use, If they don't have to give up any spectrum they would have
This would give a combined spectrum total of 2x 67.85. This would be the most of all the networks, EE have 2x 105, Given the difference in this, would 3 be able to keep its future holding of spectrum?
Lastly I wonder how this would affect the MBNL/Cornerstone tie up? Would 3 possible continue with MBNL and use Cornerstone for extra masts and capacity as i don't think even 3 would need access to 36,000-38,000 masts? Answers on a postcard.
Well, naturally it cant be done overnight I am not that stupid, however the timing would save alot of the leg work if o2 is all but updated. Would i be correct in saying o2 would continue to invest as they are no rolling out new 2/3/4G??
So a 3/o2 merger would create a good amount of spectrum for future use, If they dont have to give up any spectrum they would have
This would give a combined spectrum total of 135.7. This is actually lower than EE's holding so i wonder if 3 would have to shed any as part of the deal.??
The unpaired spectrum is actually 1900MHz
Your also missing the 2x15MHz of 800MHz lol which is going be extremely important going forward. I can't see them needing to give up either the 800 or 900MHz as that would directly effect customers. Maybe they might need give up a small bit of 2100MHz.
Well, naturally it cant be done overnight I am not that stupid, however the timing would save alot of the leg work if o2 is all but updated. Would i be correct in saying o2 would continue to invest as they are now? Rolling out new 2/3/4G??
Sorry, I wasn't saying you were stupid or anything. I do 100% agree that an O2 and Three network would be good but there would be a lot of work needed to merge them afterwards as well.
And yes, O2 will continue their roll out (due to their requirement from ofcom).
Your also missing the 2x15MHz of 800MHz lol which is going be extremely important going forward. I can't see them needing to give up either the 800 or 900MHz as that would directly effect customers. Maybe they might need give up a small bit of 2100MHz.
I know i remember after hitting the Enter key, I have edited it now. 900mhz is to be used still for the smart meters, so i can't see them having to give that up.
Sorry, I wasn't saying you were stupid or anything. I do 100% agree that an O2 and Three network would be good but there would be a lot of work needed to merge them afterwards as well.
And yes, O2 will continue their roll out (due to their requirement from ofcom).
I know i remember after hitting the Enter key, I have edited it now. 900mhz is to be used still for the smart meters, so i can't see them having to give that up.
2G will get pulled eventually on 900MHz regardless who uses 2G equipment. I have a Sat Nav and Tracker that run on 2G on 900MHz and they will stop working some day. They will just have to upgrade like everyone else. Meters do need replaced periodically regardless. I had my dumb meter replaced several times over the years as they are legally bound to change them!
British Gas has installed more than 1m smart meters, although almost 600,000 of them are likely to need replacing by 2020 because they are not deemed smart enough under government regulations.
So as you can see the Smart Meter argument is totally bogus!
2G will get pulled eventually on 900MHz regardless who uses 2G equipment. I have a Sat Nav and Tracker that run on 2G on 900MHz and they will stop working some day. They will just have to upgrade like everyone else. Meters do need replaced periodically regardless. I had my dumb meter replaced several times over the years as they are legally bound to change them!
So as you can see the Smart Meter argument is totally bogus!
O2 only have 50% of their customers on Smartphones, the lowest of all networks. I don't think you would call them fans, golden oldies perhaps ;-)
There are feature phones that have 3G to keep them happy.
There used to be loads of Analogue only TV's and Analogue mobile phones. They are all history. They will move eventually like it or not!
Very true, blanket 3G900, will please those that have basic phones, I assume most basic phones would function on this frequency? Sorry if appear to be asking silly questions I am a novice to all this.
DId the merger of Orange T-mobile take as long as this potential deal is likely to take to complete?
DId the merger of Orange T-mobile take as long as this potential deal is likely to take to complete?
Sep 2009 - Merger announced between Orange/T-Mobile
Mar 2010 - Ofcom approves merger
May 2010 - EE announced as a new brand name
Oct 2010 - 2G roaming announced and begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
Q4 2011 - 3G roaming begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
Q4 2012- EE 4G Launched as exclusive 4G only brand.
Very true, blanket 3G900, will please those that have basic phones, I assume most basic phones would function on this frequency? Sorry if appear to be asking silly questions I am a novice to all this.
DId the merger of Orange T-mobile take as long as this potential deal is likely to take to complete?
The Orange / T-Mobile merger took pretty much 2 years to complete. See this post I did today on another thread:
Oct 2010 - 2G roaming announced and begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
Q4 2011 - 3G roaming begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
The delay on 3G roaming was caused by a lawsuit / court case brought by Arqiva who were upset they would be losing sites to maintain (physically they own and manage a lot of the sites used by Tmobile and now MBNL) and a change to their contract with Tmobile. The courts took ages to decide but basically said to Arqiva "tough, times change and businesses change".
The delay on 3G roaming was caused by a lawsuit / court case brought by Arqiva who were upset they would be losing sites to maintain (physically they own and manage a lot of the sites used by Tmobile and now MBNL) and a change to their contract with Tmobile. The courts took ages to decide but basically said to Arqiva "tough, times change and businesses change".
In a cinema with full bar 4G on O2; 1 bar 3G on Three...
I was in a cinema in Dec, and had full signal on EE 4G.
Cinema walls are probably lined with foil to keep heat in, and by chance 800 MHz gets through really well and 2100 MHz has problems (all the networks have 2100 3G). Either that or the O2 transmitter is on the same building or opposite, and the Three transmitter is much further away.
Its all useless data unless you have a LOT more data, and unless you work for the network, that's just tedious to gather and does nothing to help inform how national coverage is achieved except tell you about that particular coverage spot.
Amusing though.
I would recommend The Imitation Game, good British movie.
Comments
Three's current plan actually does make more sense in the long term. It's just stupid that Three wasn't more open by saying so (it still hasn't officially said anything to the media about its plans) earlier on.
Maybe all of 2014 will be put down as a 'trial'...
Clever! Capacity and coverage upgrades completed by O2 before handover and MBNL upgrades complete. Welcome to a supernetwork!
Not clever. It's just how it works.
You can't expect Three to buy and merge O2 overnight. First this deal needs to be cleared, then the merge will happen, and no doubt there will be conditions attached. In fact we all have no idea what will actually happen at all even if this deal does go ahead.
Well, naturally it cant be done overnight I am not that stupid, however the timing would save alot of the leg work if o2 is all but updated. Would i be correct in saying o2 would continue to invest as they are now? Rolling out new 2/3/4G??
So a 3/o2 merger would create a good amount of spectrum for future use, If they don't have to give up any spectrum they would have
2x 15 800mhz
2x 17.4 900mhz
2x 20.8 1800mhz
2x 24.6 2100mhz
1x 10.1 2100mhz (unpaired)
This would give a combined spectrum total of 2x 67.85. This would be the most of all the networks, EE have 2x 105, Given the difference in this, would 3 be able to keep its future holding of spectrum?
Lastly I wonder how this would affect the MBNL/Cornerstone tie up? Would 3 possible continue with MBNL and use Cornerstone for extra masts and capacity as i don't think even 3 would need access to 36,000-38,000 masts? Answers on a postcard.
The unpaired spectrum is actually 1900MHz
Your also missing the 2x15MHz of 800MHz lol which is going be extremely important going forward. I can't see them needing to give up either the 800 or 900MHz as that would directly effect customers. Maybe they might need give up a small bit of 2100MHz.
Sorry, I wasn't saying you were stupid or anything. I do 100% agree that an O2 and Three network would be good but there would be a lot of work needed to merge them afterwards as well.
And yes, O2 will continue their roll out (due to their requirement from ofcom).
As you say, will take time.
I know i remember after hitting the Enter key, I have edited it now. 900mhz is to be used still for the smart meters, so i can't see them having to give that up.
No need to apologise Jab, I know you wasn't
2G will get pulled eventually on 900MHz regardless who uses 2G equipment. I have a Sat Nav and Tracker that run on 2G on 900MHz and they will stop working some day. They will just have to upgrade like everyone else. Meters do need replaced periodically regardless. I had my dumb meter replaced several times over the years as they are legally bound to change them!
So as you can see the Smart Meter argument is totally bogus!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10613535/Energy-giants-call-for-review-of-smart-meter-roll-out-to-save-consumers-1.8bn.html
Fair comment, I am sure if the for the meter to use a mobile signal of some sorts, sure they could be 4G chipped to say future proof them per say....
Smart meters aren't really the hot topic of 3 buy o2. As o2 still has a huge 2G fan base surely it would be around for sometime to come.
900mhz would work great for 3 as a load for 3G calling, then again would this be need if the future is VoLTE?
VoLTE will work on any band.
O2 only have 50% of their customers on Smartphones, the lowest of all networks. I don't think you would call them fans, golden oldies perhaps ;-)
There are feature phones that have 3G to keep them happy.
There used to be loads of Analogue only TV's and Analogue mobile phones. They are all history. They will move eventually like it or not!
Very true, blanket 3G900, will please those that have basic phones, I assume most basic phones would function on this frequency? Sorry if appear to be asking silly questions I am a novice to all this.
DId the merger of Orange T-mobile take as long as this potential deal is likely to take to complete?
Sep 2009 - Merger announced between Orange/T-Mobile
Mar 2010 - Ofcom approves merger
May 2010 - EE announced as a new brand name
Oct 2010 - 2G roaming announced and begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
Q4 2011 - 3G roaming begins to be implemented for Orange/T-Mo users
Q4 2012- EE 4G Launched as exclusive 4G only brand.
The Orange / T-Mobile merger took pretty much 2 years to complete. See this post I did today on another thread:
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=76603891&postcount=51
Most phones that have 3G made in the last 4 years should support 3G 900MHz.
The delay on 3G roaming was caused by a lawsuit / court case brought by Arqiva who were upset they would be losing sites to maintain (physically they own and manage a lot of the sites used by Tmobile and now MBNL) and a change to their contract with Tmobile. The courts took ages to decide but basically said to Arqiva "tough, times change and businesses change".
http://www.casecheck.co.uk/CaseLaw.aspx?EntryID=17332
Arqiva just being petty and childish about the whole thing by the looks of it. Lengthy read if anyone is interested!
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2011/1411.html
Good find - I must admit I read about it on the Register
Turn your phone off! I'm trying to watch the movie.
WATCH OUT LIAM NEESON! HE HAS A GUN!!!!!!!
I was in a cinema in Dec, and had full signal on EE 4G.
Cinema walls are probably lined with foil to keep heat in, and by chance 800 MHz gets through really well and 2100 MHz has problems (all the networks have 2100 3G). Either that or the O2 transmitter is on the same building or opposite, and the Three transmitter is much further away.
Its all useless data unless you have a LOT more data, and unless you work for the network, that's just tedious to gather and does nothing to help inform how national coverage is achieved except tell you about that particular coverage spot.
Amusing though.
I would recommend The Imitation Game, good British movie.
Also, even though 4G isn't on the list for Shrewsbury for 2014, it appears it is being rolled out, I've copied this from @ThreeUKSupport Twitter
"I've just checked and it looks like we do have plans for 4G to be there in 2015. >DT"
This was before the film, obviously.
It would be a horrific waste of money to use your phone during the film. Some people amaze me.