Hey everyone, As you may or may know MBNL is the tower sharing agreement between Three UK and T-Mobile, however Orange are also now part of it so its a joint venture between Three UK and Everything Everywhere. I have some questions about it, I have researched various places and asked various people online and have got very mixed responses so I just want to know for certain if anybody knows for sure.

What I want to know is:

1 - Do T-Mobile & orange have access to ALL of Three's masts? Or are there some Three masts that are not part of MBNL thus not shared with T-Mobile and Orange?

2 - Do T-Mobile and Orange use Three's backhaul when using the Three mast that's part of MBNL?

3 - Does T-Mobile have the same 3G coverage and speeds as Three or is Three better?

Please do only answer if you definitely know because I am quite confused from getting very mixed answers.

Thanks a lot
Last edited by ajh94 : 02-01-2012 at 22:33

Answers in bold

Ah okay thanks mate! so basicly Three is better in every way? Also if they don't use three's backhual what backhual do they use? Do three and t-Mobile have the SAME backhual?

Um... they use their own. As I understand it, on MBNL masts Three have their own backhaul and T-Mobile have THEIR own backhaul. This is down to, despite all the sharing that's going on, Three and T-Mobile being separate network operators.

The easiest way to think of it is as one set of antenna's and everything else (transmitter etc) is separate (it's not always technically separate, just logically).

The back-haul is separate, though there has been some talk of both (TMO + H3G) sharing Virgin Fibre Leased Lines in the future (though this is still hear-say, as opposed to fact, at this stage). These would still lead back to the individual providers network (and therefore bandwidth) ultimately.

No they definitely signed the deal and the value of the contract was announced and the number of break out points throughout the UK etc, it was worth millions and they said they aren't going to cancel the BT wholesale agreement, so they plan to run with dual backhaul. I should imagine work is already under way as it was months and months ago when the deal was signed.

Dual backhaul? so they do share backhaul?? or do they use their own afterall. its just i can get the same speeds on 3 and t-mobile in the same area and i have tried many areas so that would suggest they use the same backhaul right?

Dual meaning they currently have a contract with BT wholesale and recently signed a deal with Virgin Media, but stressed they aren't cancelling the BT and will run with both.

This is a very complex issue but the key factor is that the telecommunications licence that both EE and Hutchison 3G UK hold requires them to operate separate completely networks. MBNL provide a full shared transmission network for both buit each has a unique range of frequencies that serve their customers exclusively. The links between the masts and the individual networks can easily be shared using the same infrastructure but there will have to be a virtual network with encapsulation to create a secure exclusive pipe for each operators data. Where things become more complex is the bandwidth that each operator chooses to buy to serve their customers. That I am sure will be a closely guarded commercial arrangemnt and will be subject to change depending on demand. What is known is the total capacity of the Virgin and BT Fibre backbone services but what capacity each network uses is unlikely to be shared for competition reasons.

From my reading of the original agreement both EE and 3 UK have sub-contracted all of the physical transmission to MBNL and it's their responsibility to plan and provide the capacity for the network of radio transmission facilities. There may still exist some sites outwith the RAN but the aim will be to have one single RAN which all of the partners have access to allowing each to gain maximum benefit. If there exists a demand for additional capacity by any one operator by increasing the number of sites in an area it is most likely that all the partners will have access to those otherwise its not a full share which both companies have made clear that it is.

I concur with the above. The speeds definitely do vary. Around a year ago there were a couple of places I knew where 3 would regularly get heavily congested whereas T-Mobile stayed fairly quick and a couple of mainline stations where T-Mobile would get fairly slow (but still quite usable) and 3 would continue flying along.

What I would say is that MBNL has definitely produced results regarding coverage. I cannot believe some of the tiny little lanes in the middle of nowhere where I can end up with a -65dBm or stronger signal of full speed HSPA. Usually it's faster in these places than in the city.

Yeah I have found that as well, some places out in the sticks have about 4mb internet its crazy! I think BMNL is brilliant because they are making one big network that is managed by 2 companies and allows many different networks to benefit.

Also @lozzauk85 are you on Three though or are you on T-Mobile/Orange using an MBNL mast?

1 last thing, what's a RAN? Sorry if that's a stupid question lol.

Just Google mobile ran or ran share...

http://www.mobilemastinfo.com/networ...n-sharing.html