I'm surprised Three wasn't putting in 800 alongside 1800 too. It does seem that with so many thousands of sites, you wouldn't want to keep going back.

Thanks for the confirmation - thought it would be that! Will send you the pics of the mast panels so that you can check another day

I think the 900 and 800 are shared for both operators - as for the 2100, I don't know. O2 might still be using its panels, but then again, they might have moved everything to the CTIL mast. (O2's panels were on the same mast as MBNL, but lower down.)

I'm surprised that Vodafone haven't done anything with either their 1800 or 2600... They could have put their 5.8MHz of 1800 on every site as 4G, allowing older devices (such as the iPhone 5) to connect to their 4G, and have 2600 as pretty much the main carrier for speed and capacity. Alright, 2600 won't have the same reach as either 1800 or 800 (hence the use of 1800 and 800 as well) but it'd certainly help in terms of speed/capacity; particularly if it put users closest to the mast on the 2600 (thus giving more bandwidth to other users).

Yeah I'm kind of regretting getting a 12 month contract. The only reason I did is that I've got an unlocked and 1800mhz just doesn't isn't able to work well around where I live. I'd constantly get no signal on three or ee.

As i said yesterday the checker isn't showing any planned maintenance anywhere it seems

Cumbria has quite a bit of planned upgrades showing.

But there are quite a few areas (certainly where I am) where 1800 and 2100 are perfectly fine - it's just the topography around your area.

I wasn't suggesting having 1800 as the main 4G layer (like on EE) - I was suggesting adding 4G1800 and 4G2600 to every mast, to ease congestion on the 800. Therefore the people on 800 would have more capacity because the people in strong signal areas would be using the 1800 and 2600 bands.

And remember this: 4G1800 will be much more useful (certainly in terms of data) than 2G1800, and Vodafone/O2 don't need 2G1800 due to having 2G900

What I meant was no little red triangles on the planned maintenance checker not future coverage in the map

O no I totally agree, I just meant that's what I expected to happen when I took the contract out but hasn't materialised . it's a shame that cornerstone/voda dont seem very organised or forward thinking.

What's this? A bit of outdoor coverage planned for South Hams creeping in? Holy hell. Might even work in our woods if I climb a tall tree. Come on VOD. Keep it rolling.

Could be that it's just a software configuration away.. maybe they're planning it and working out the finer details, then it'll be a change made from the control centre?

no they've shown how disorganized they are with coming back to masts multiple times.ive seen them install a new mast and then for them to come back and change it again. none of them have the antennas for 2.6Ghz apart from new ones in london.

its a bit of a farce and they must wast a fortune.

In my opinion, with the spectrum that Vodafone has,and the amount of masts that CTIL have in total, then once the upgrades are complete, Vodafone would definitely have had a shot at challenging EE in terms of compatibility/speeds/capacity etc. There was great potential for the Vodafone network to beat the MBNL networks, and that was by putting 3G900, 3G2100, 4G1800 and 4G2600 onto every mast, as well as possibly refarming a bit more 2G900 to 3G900. That way, with 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 on every mast, you'd have an awesome network, with no need to go back and upgrade any more sites/equipment for future capacity addition. However, on some masts, it's still just 2G900, and on upgraded masts, quite a lot of the more rural ones aren't getting 3G2100 (risking an overloaded 3G900), and virtually none of the masts are getting 2600 - meaning that if data usage increases, the strain on 800 will increase, and 800 just won't have the capacity.

Plus, with 800 being the main 4G band, they can't run it at full power because 4G didn't ship with voice included, and if 800 was used purely for VoLTE devices only, there'd be no 4G at all for anyone else. If they'd have rolled out 1800 and 2600, there'd be the option of doing what EE/Three are doing, and that is to run 800 at full power for VoLTE devices.

yeah on voda you get unstable 900 mhz 3g in any building in manc

Has anyone been able to scrape the Vodafone map to show the extent of their 4g layers on a national map?

In Gravesend about 20miles from central London o2 have submitted planning apps to swap out monopoles they only installed 18 months (o2 upgrade area) ago to be replaced with double stack types and are adding L1800 to them... Which will make them faster than voda

I've been reading your posts about how Vodafone could be a better network by using more of their bandwidth and frequencies. And I have to admit I am still quite shocked with the difference Vodafone UK has versus other European Vodafone networks. It makes me wonder why they claim that they are making big investments on network infrastructure and at the same time they are virtually using only 4G 800. There is some 3G 2100, but now they keep focusing on 900MHz when it comes to 3G, taking more bandwidth from 2G 900 over to 3G.

Mobile phone network don't work like TV and Radio. It is not about having the bars and the network logo on your phone's screen only. They need the capacity to provide a reliable service. Rural areas might be okay for the moment with 4G 800 and 3G 900, but that will only last for a few years. And let's not forget cities all over the UK who suffer congestion because of limited 4G 800 and 3G 900 masts.

Yes but at the moment the focus is on coverage and not speed. The networks know that having coverage is main issue of the user, then when it's slow and congested they can do something about speeding it up and increasing capacity.

Lets be honest it's VF/o2 customers who are just getting excited at seeing 3g/4g in areas where they used to only get 2g.

I wonder whether o2 (and Voda) need the extra capacity on 1800 for 2g any longer? Or is it perhaps the case that voice call volumes are falling to the level that 2g900/3g900 can keep pace, thus meaning they can devote their 1800Mhz spectrum to 4g for capacity?

I concur with what's being said though - it seems odd that both Voda and o2 might only install (say) 800 4g and 2g/3g 900 at a site, leaving their 1800 / 2100 / 2600(voda) spectrum going begging.

Looks like the MIP mast at Cornworthy. Dunno why the North Huish one isn't showing as planned as well then!

https://goo.gl/photos/eutRHTuTPTKDcWGT7
This the the speed of where I currently live where all the masts have been upgraded that surround my house. I live in the westlands, Newcastle under Lyme which is just a sparse suburbs. I can't believe how congested it has already become.

Yowch, 4Mbps on 4G? Vodafone/O2 really need to get the 1800 put forward to 4G, and 2600 for Vodafone. Otherwise these slow speeds with (a) become the norm for Voda/O2 4G, and (b) get even slower with time.

I say - whilst the upgrades are going in, get that 1800 and 2600 (Vod) put in as well!

really?? i dont think so unless your map has updated mine hasnt since last week only the date has changed grrrr what you see is future fringe coverage from the Voda 25m mast at Hillhead

edit the map has changed as mip mast has appeared in Ringmore!!!

And of course there is 3G2100 in the areas where 2100 has been rolled out to.

My honest opinion: get that 1800 shifted across to 4G. It'll help with congestion and deliver 4G to people with iPhone 5's. Might also be able to do CA with both 800 and 1800 (for phones that support CA) in order to help with speeds and capacity.

And at least get 3G2100 rolled out on every mast, for 3G capacity now, and (once enough phones are doing calls over VoLTE) possibly even 4G2100 in the future - assuming 3G900 would be able to cope. Which nowadays, it probably can't.

For Vodafone, the 2600 would really help in urban areas. Possibly not so much in rural areas, as 2600 has the least coverage, but even so, it'd be good practise to have 2600 on every mast, as the people who could pick up 2600 would use that, and help to alleviate pressure on 1800 or 800.