O2 starts rolling out 900mhz 3G

old bill2 · 21-03-2011, 11:11

If you live in London and have a compatible handset then you should notice a big improvement with O2s 3G coverage.

http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Re...twork-2f8.aspx

gomezz · 21-03-2011, 11:22

And have a capable handset:-

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/18/o2_3g_900mhz/

markrduk · 21-03-2011, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by old bill2

If you live in London and have a compatible handset then you should notice a big improvement with O2s 3G coverage.

http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Re...twork-2f8.aspx

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomezz

And have a capable handset:-

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/18/o2_3g_900mhz/

Sneaky edit?

prking · 21-03-2011, 12:52

They started rolling it out in January, they switched it on in a few places last week - that's all.

Aye Up · 21-03-2011, 13:07

I wonder if a handset is capable of using 900mhz on 2G does that mean it can use 3G on 900mhz?

I don't know the technical specifics of this which has me curious.

gomezz · 21-03-2011, 16:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by markrduk

Sneaky edit?

Oh yes!

Redcoat · 21-03-2011, 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aye Up

I wonder if a handset is capable of using 900mhz on 2G does that mean it can use 3G on 900mhz?

I don't know the technical specifics of this which has me curious.

No, different technologies I'm afraid unless it states in the specs that the phone can use 3G in the 900MHz Band (not just 2100MHz). Good to see that O2 are rolling out 3G in the 900MHz band, if it's anything like my experience with Telstra's NextG (3G 850MHz) service & coverage it'll be worth looking forward to - but please, I hope they also run it out to places where there is currently no 3G service from O2 sooner than later - my current O2 signal here is good, but it's GPRS only.

Redcoat · 21-03-2011, 17:28

BTW, to check if a phone is 3G 900MHz compatible, go to www.gsmarena.com and select a manufacturer, then check the box for 900 in the UMTS section in the filter near the top of the page (between 850 and 1700, make sure you don't select GSM by mistake!) That should then give you all the phones by that manufacturer that can handle 3G in the 900MHz band, but some of these are only compatible on European sold models of the phone - the same phone sold elsewhere (particularly the Americas) may have 850MHz capabilities rather than 900MHz.

legends wear 7 · 21-03-2011, 18:39

Wish I could remember who argued with us that this would be years away.......hard to feel smug

Everything Goes · 21-03-2011, 22:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redcoat

BTW, to check if a phone is 3G 900MHz compatible, go to www.gsmarena.com and select a manufacturer, then check the box for 900 in the UMTS section in the filter near the top of the page (between 850 and 1700, make sure you don't select GSM by mistake!) That should then give you all the phones by that manufacturer that can handle 3G in the 900MHz band, but some of these are only compatible on European sold models of the phone - the same phone sold elsewhere (particularly the Americas) may have 850MHz capabilities rather than 900MHz.

304 of them apparently

TheBigM · 21-03-2011, 23:23

Funny how they announce just as I leave giffgaff due to poor data speeds. I might be back in a couple of months now. All I know is, I'm in London (though O2 might disagree) - I get low 3G signal on O2 and HSDPA on 3.

Perhaps not enabled in my bit of london yet.

HBKid · 21-03-2011, 23:29

They could do with making sure the rest of the country is covered first, instead of treating anyone who doesn't live in a major city or town as second class.

TheBigM · 21-03-2011, 23:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by HBKid

They could do with making sure the rest of the country is covered first, instead of treating anyone who doesn't live in a major city or town as second class.

To be fair 3G900 will help both. It will be handy in rural areas in terms of longer distances can be covered by a single cell site. It will also help in london through better building penetration (by the signal).

London, being such a dense area, lets them have a positive impact on a large number of customers for a comparatively smaller investment. Also remember this is a data-only upgrade, O2's network in London has been seriously bad in recent years, it fell over a few times. I think mainly it has been due to overwhelming data demand from iPhones. If you do a news search you will see that executives from O2 have apologised on a few occasions about the woefully under-capacity network in London.

Redcoat · 22-03-2011, 00:51

The main advantages the 900MHz band has over 2100MHz for 3G is...[LIST][*]Better in-building penetration - should be most noticeable in built-up areas (where outdoors 2100MHz 3G may be fine but struggles indoors especially at ground floor level) but everywhere can benefit from this.[*]Better coverage from a single mast - main benefit here is for rural coverage where 2100MHz 3G is deemed uneconomical - approx. four 2100MHz base stations are needed to match the coverage area of 900MHz 2G in rural areas on average. In addition, UMTS does not have a 35km radius limit that GSM has so in very desolate areas its possible to mount that base station on a mountain mast to cover a very wide area not dissimilar to a medium-powered TV transmitter (200km has been proven from aircraft, real world ground level results are likely to be less than half of this). For urban areas, 900Mhz would likely be better suited to microcells and picocells rather than macrocells.[*]For the same transmitting aerial above ground level at the same centre frequency with the same output power, the 5MHz UMTS block will give better coverage than the 200kHz GSM allocation (in the absence of on-channel interference) as UMTS can work down to lower signal levels approx 10db better than GSM in good conditions, though UMTS' coverage can be affected by cell breathing particularly during peak times.[/LIST]There is a price to pay for 3G deployment in the 900MHz band however, and that is reduced spectrum available for 2G (GSM) services. This can be partially offset at least by adding 1800MHz spectrum at the same site (both O2 and Vodafone have small allocations) if spectrum is available to deploy. Adopting Half-Rate speech coding is also an option for 2G calls, though this results in lower call quality.

Red Arrow · 22-03-2011, 09:44

Thanks Redcoat, that was a good read.

Can someone explain to me how having a reduced 2G service is bad? As the way I see it is it's being replaced with this newer version of 3G which offers a better signal and wider coverage, wouldn't that be good for all? So if you could only pick up 2G before this should now mean you have a better chance of getting a 3G signal right?

carguy143 · 22-03-2011, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Arrow

Thanks Redcoat, that was a good read.

Can someone explain to me how having a reduced 2G service is bad? As the way I see it is it's being replaced with this newer version of 3G which offers a better signal and wider coverage, wouldn't that be good for all? So if you could only pick up 2G before this should now mean you have a better chance of getting a 3G signal right?

I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones.

BOOTHY2905 · 22-03-2011, 10:21

are any other networks going to be using 900MHz if not doing so already?

grumpyoldbat · 22-03-2011, 10:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by carguy143

I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones.

Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly?

carguy143 · 22-03-2011, 10:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly?

Probably, my grandparents belonging to that group.

Personally i think it's a good idea and always found even back in the days of 2g, the 900mhz networks always had the better signal in rural areas or indoors.

Red Arrow · 22-03-2011, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by carguy143

I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones.

Ah that makes sense then why some people would be unhappy with this change.

Aldridge Andy · 22-03-2011, 13:44

Have to say that 3G coverage in the office where I work in ther centre of Birmingham is now rock solid, I look forward to the changes been rolled out elsewhere.

ram jam · 22-03-2011, 14:00

hope vodafone role out 3g900, otherwise they will be left behind all networks

TheBigM · 22-03-2011, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram jam

hope vodafone role out 3g900, otherwise they will be left behind all networks

I imagine they will, it's a relatively cheap way for them to expand coverage. Often today's kit can already do it and it's a case of just software upgrades in some areas.

Vodafone are the only ones doing 7.2Mbps on the HSDPA right? Do all the rest just offer 3.6Mbps? Did I read Vodafone were beginning to offer 14.4Mbps?

I reckon, in keeping with their premium brand, they will be the first to roll out LTE.

Daveoc64 · 22-03-2011, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by carguy143

I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly?

It's a far greater number of people than you imagine.

All of the carriers except 3 are still selling 2G phones.

Aye Up · 22-03-2011, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigM

Vodafone are the only ones doing 7.2Mbps on the HSDPA right? Do all the rest just offer 3.6Mbps? Did I read Vodafone were beginning to offer 14.4Mbps?

Majority of the networks in urban conurbations offer 7.2Mbps where as the 14.4 service is usually reserved for large locations e.g. London and Manchester.

21-03-2011, 11:11	#1
old bill2 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 621	O2 starts rolling out 900mhz 3G If you live in London and have a compatible handset then you should notice a big improvement with O2s 3G coverage. http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Re...twork-2f8.aspx

21-03-2011, 11:22	#2
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,548	And have a capable handset:- http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/18/o2_3g_900mhz/

21-03-2011, 12:38	#3
markrduk Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Manchester Posts: 1,225	Quote: Originally Posted by old bill2 If you live in London and have a compatible handset then you should notice a big improvement with O2s 3G coverage. http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Re...twork-2f8.aspx Quote: Originally Posted by gomezz And have a capable handset:- http://www.reghardware.com/2011/03/18/o2_3g_900mhz/ Sneaky edit?

21-03-2011, 12:52	#4
prking Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Weston-super-Mare Posts: 9,167	They started rolling it out in January, they switched it on in a few places last week - that's all.

21-03-2011, 13:07	#5
Aye Up Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: North West Posts: 4,884	I wonder if a handset is capable of using 900mhz on 2G does that mean it can use 3G on 900mhz? I don't know the technical specifics of this which has me curious.

21-03-2011, 16:38	#6
gomezz Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buckingham Posts: 28,548	Quote: Originally Posted by markrduk Sneaky edit? Oh yes!

21-03-2011, 16:49	#7
Redcoat Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The wilds of West Tyrone Posts: 2,122	Quote: Originally Posted by Aye Up I wonder if a handset is capable of using 900mhz on 2G does that mean it can use 3G on 900mhz? I don't know the technical specifics of this which has me curious. No, different technologies I'm afraid unless it states in the specs that the phone can use 3G in the 900MHz Band (not just 2100MHz). Good to see that O2 are rolling out 3G in the 900MHz band, if it's anything like my experience with Telstra's NextG (3G 850MHz) service & coverage it'll be worth looking forward to - but please, I hope they also run it out to places where there is currently no 3G service from O2 sooner than later - my current O2 signal here is good, but it's GPRS only.

21-03-2011, 17:28	#8
Redcoat Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The wilds of West Tyrone Posts: 2,122	BTW, to check if a phone is 3G 900MHz compatible, go to www.gsmarena.com and select a manufacturer, then check the box for 900 in the UMTS section in the filter near the top of the page (between 850 and 1700, make sure you don't select GSM by mistake!) That should then give you all the phones by that manufacturer that can handle 3G in the 900MHz band, but some of these are only compatible on European sold models of the phone - the same phone sold elsewhere (particularly the Americas) may have 850MHz capabilities rather than 900MHz.

21-03-2011, 18:39	#9
legends wear 7 Guest Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,070	Wish I could remember who argued with us that this would be years away.......hard to feel smug

21-03-2011, 22:59	#10
Everything Goes Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In the future.... Posts: 11,257	Quote: Originally Posted by Redcoat BTW, to check if a phone is 3G 900MHz compatible, go to www.gsmarena.com and select a manufacturer, then check the box for 900 in the UMTS section in the filter near the top of the page (between 850 and 1700, make sure you don't select GSM by mistake!) That should then give you all the phones by that manufacturer that can handle 3G in the 900MHz band, but some of these are only compatible on European sold models of the phone - the same phone sold elsewhere (particularly the Americas) may have 850MHz capabilities rather than 900MHz. 304 of them apparently

21-03-2011, 23:23	#11
TheBigM Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: moon Posts: 12,983	Funny how they announce just as I leave giffgaff due to poor data speeds. I might be back in a couple of months now. All I know is, I'm in London (though O2 might disagree) - I get low 3G signal on O2 and HSDPA on 3. Perhaps not enabled in my bit of london yet.

21-03-2011, 23:29	#12
HBKid Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 539	They could do with making sure the rest of the country is covered first, instead of treating anyone who doesn't live in a major city or town as second class.

21-03-2011, 23:44	#13
TheBigM Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: moon Posts: 12,983	Quote: Originally Posted by HBKid They could do with making sure the rest of the country is covered first, instead of treating anyone who doesn't live in a major city or town as second class. To be fair 3G900 will help both. It will be handy in rural areas in terms of longer distances can be covered by a single cell site. It will also help in london through better building penetration (by the signal). London, being such a dense area, lets them have a positive impact on a large number of customers for a comparatively smaller investment. Also remember this is a data-only upgrade, O2's network in London has been seriously bad in recent years, it fell over a few times. I think mainly it has been due to overwhelming data demand from iPhones. If you do a news search you will see that executives from O2 have apologised on a few occasions about the woefully under-capacity network in London.

22-03-2011, 00:51	#14
Redcoat Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The wilds of West Tyrone Posts: 2,122	The main advantages the 900MHz band has over 2100MHz for 3G is...[LIST][]Better in-building penetration - should be most noticeable in built-up areas (where outdoors 2100MHz 3G may be fine but struggles indoors especially at ground floor level) but everywhere can benefit from this.[]Better coverage from a single mast - main benefit here is for rural coverage where 2100MHz 3G is deemed uneconomical - approx. four 2100MHz base stations are needed to match the coverage area of 900MHz 2G in rural areas on average. In addition, UMTS does not have a 35km radius limit that GSM has so in very desolate areas its possible to mount that base station on a mountain mast to cover a very wide area not dissimilar to a medium-powered TV transmitter (200km has been proven from aircraft, real world ground level results are likely to be less than half of this). For urban areas, 900Mhz would likely be better suited to microcells and picocells rather than macrocells.[*]For the same transmitting aerial above ground level at the same centre frequency with the same output power, the 5MHz UMTS block will give better coverage than the 200kHz GSM allocation (in the absence of on-channel interference) as UMTS can work down to lower signal levels approx 10db better than GSM in good conditions, though UMTS' coverage can be affected by cell breathing particularly during peak times.[/LIST]There is a price to pay for 3G deployment in the 900MHz band however, and that is reduced spectrum available for 2G (GSM) services. This can be partially offset at least by adding 1800MHz spectrum at the same site (both O2 and Vodafone have small allocations) if spectrum is available to deploy. Adopting Half-Rate speech coding is also an option for 2G calls, though this results in lower call quality.

22-03-2011, 09:44	#15
Red Arrow Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mars Posts: 10,688	Thanks Redcoat, that was a good read. Can someone explain to me how having a reduced 2G service is bad? As the way I see it is it's being replaced with this newer version of 3G which offers a better signal and wider coverage, wouldn't that be good for all? So if you could only pick up 2G before this should now mean you have a better chance of getting a 3G signal right?

22-03-2011, 10:15	#16
carguy143 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Leyland Posts: 1,971	Quote: Originally Posted by Red Arrow Thanks Redcoat, that was a good read. Can someone explain to me how having a reduced 2G service is bad? As the way I see it is it's being replaced with this newer version of 3G which offers a better signal and wider coverage, wouldn't that be good for all? So if you could only pick up 2G before this should now mean you have a better chance of getting a 3G signal right? I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones.

22-03-2011, 10:21	#17
BOOTHY2905 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 1,512	are any other networks going to be using 900MHz if not doing so already?

22-03-2011, 10:24	#18
grumpyoldbat Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,636	Quote: Originally Posted by carguy143 I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones. Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly?

22-03-2011, 10:32	#19
carguy143 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Leyland Posts: 1,971	Quote: Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly? Probably, my grandparents belonging to that group. Personally i think it's a good idea and always found even back in the days of 2g, the 900mhz networks always had the better signal in rural areas or indoors.

22-03-2011, 12:08	#20
Red Arrow Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mars Posts: 10,688	Quote: Originally Posted by carguy143 I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones. Ah that makes sense then why some people would be unhappy with this change.

22-03-2011, 13:44	#21
Aldridge Andy Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aldridge, West Midlands. Posts: 335	Have to say that 3G coverage in the office where I work in ther centre of Birmingham is now rock solid, I look forward to the changes been rolled out elsewhere.

DS Forums

O2 starts rolling out 900mhz 3G

22-03-2011, 14:00	#22
ram jam Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Barnsley Posts: 272	hope vodafone role out 3g900, otherwise they will be left behind all networks

22-03-2011, 17:23	#23
TheBigM Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: moon Posts: 12,983	Quote: Originally Posted by ram jam hope vodafone role out 3g900, otherwise they will be left behind all networks I imagine they will, it's a relatively cheap way for them to expand coverage. Often today's kit can already do it and it's a case of just software upgrades in some areas. Vodafone are the only ones doing 7.2Mbps on the HSDPA right? Do all the rest just offer 3.6Mbps? Did I read Vodafone were beginning to offer 14.4Mbps? I reckon, in keeping with their premium brand, they will be the first to roll out LTE.

22-03-2011, 17:38	#24
Daveoc64 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bristol (BBC1 West) Posts: 15,143	Quote: Originally Posted by carguy143 I imagine there's still a lot of people who don't have 3g phones and wouldn't be happy if they're forced to upgrade to newer 3g phones. Quote: Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat Would they be the same people who will complain about the digital switchover on the telly? It's a far greater number of people than you imagine. All of the carriers except 3 are still selling 2G phones.

22-03-2011, 17:40	#25
Aye Up Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: North West Posts: 4,884	Quote: Originally Posted by TheBigM Vodafone are the only ones doing 7.2Mbps on the HSDPA right? Do all the rest just offer 3.6Mbps? Did I read Vodafone were beginning to offer 14.4Mbps? Majority of the networks in urban conurbations offer 7.2Mbps where as the 14.4 service is usually reserved for large locations e.g. London and Manchester.