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Old 18-06-2016, 00:14
beans0ntoast
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I do not believe that. Where is the upgrade Voda and O2 get it both. I have a sim cards on both VO2 and coverage where areas upgraded is exactly the same. Even signal strength is same.
I'm well aware of this - when Vodafone was 2G900 only, this was before the area has been touched by CTIL. To clarify, until a few weeks ago:

EE: 2G1800/3G2100
Three: 3G2100
O2: 2G900/3G2100
Vod: 2G900

After EE had upgraded the MBNL mast to EE 4G:
EE: 2G/4G 1800; 3G 2100
Three: as previous
O2: as previous
Vod: as previous

Then the planned 3G upgrade was showing on Vodafone's map, which is now showing as 3G/4G current coverage (though no change on O2's map, which probably hasn't been updated).

Current situation for Raunds:
EE: 2G1800, 3G2100, 4G1800
Three: 3G2100
Vodafone: 2G900, 3G900, 4G800 (unsure if 3G2100 has been added or not, will have to check panels)
O2: 2G900, 3G2100 (from old mast), 3G900 (from Vod mast), 4G800 (from Vod mast). Unsure about 3G2100 on Vod mast.
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Old 18-06-2016, 08:06
interactiv-uk
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Typo! Oops!
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Old 18-06-2016, 08:13
interactiv-uk
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I'm well aware of this - when Vodafone was 2G900 only, this was before the area has been touched by CTIL. To clarify, until a few weeks ago:

EE: 2G1800/3G2100
Three: 3G2100
O2: 2G900/3G2100
Vod: 2G900

After EE had upgraded the MBNL mast to EE 4G:
EE: 2G/4G 1800; 3G 2100
Three: as previous
O2: as previous
Vod: as previous

Then the planned 3G upgrade was showing on Vodafone's map, which is now showing as 3G/4G current coverage (though no change on O2's map, which probably hasn't been updated).

Current situation for Raunds:
EE: 2G1800, 3G2100, 4G1800
Three: 3G2100
Vodafone: 2G900, 3G900, 4G800 (unsure if 3G2100 has been added or not, will have to check panels)
O2: 2G900, 3G2100 (from old mast), 3G900 (from Vod mast), 4G800 (from Vod mast). Unsure about 3G2100 on Vod mast.
O2 is only transmitting from the ex-Vodafone site (71346) on Meadow Lane and is now 2G900/3G900/3G2100/4G800/4G1800 - the old O2 mast (37283) behind Brick Kiln Road is down - no planned works that I can see, just looks to be in the process of decomm.
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Old 18-06-2016, 11:43
Denco1
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Vodafone 4G2100 is live in Manchester. They have picked a site which doesn't use RRUs, should be interesting to see whether 3G RRU sites get upgraded.
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Old 18-06-2016, 11:55
LegendaryAced
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My iPhone 6S Plus on iOS 9.3.2 received a Vodafone carrier update taking the version up to 24.1.

Does anyone know the changes of the new carrier version?
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Old 18-06-2016, 12:14
packages
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EE had this carrier update a few weeks ago. Doesn't appear to have done anything that we can see

Edit: on bt mobile, this added personal hotspot. Probably didn't do anything for Vodafone
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Old 18-06-2016, 12:16
interactiv-uk
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My iPhone 6S Plus on iOS 9.3.2 received a Vodafone carrier update taking the version up to 24.1.

Does anyone know the changes of the new carrier version?
I've had the 24.1 update on O2 today - it has removed the Calls & Data over 2G/3G/4G option and reverted to a singe Enable 4G toggle.
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Old 18-06-2016, 12:25
LegendaryAced
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I've had the 24.1 update on O2 today - it has removed the Calls & Data over 2G/3G/4G option and reverted to a singe Enable 4G toggle.
Voice & Data remains unchanged in Vodafone.
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Old 18-06-2016, 13:44
Skippy2005
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Vodafone 4G2100 is live in Manchester. They have picked a site which doesn't use RRUs, should be interesting to see whether 3G RRU sites get upgraded.
So why does it appear 2600 has been so difficult to roll out? Would it be new cabs and new panels again? I assume as they already have 1800/2100 live. It's just a quick card swap from 2/3G to a 4G card?
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Old 18-06-2016, 15:03
lightspeed2398
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Vodafone 4G2100 is live in Manchester. They have picked a site which doesn't use RRUs, should be interesting to see whether 3G RRU sites get upgraded.
Thanks for the update. Is it in the centre? Went around about 3 weeks ago with a phone locked to bands 1,3,7 and only got the 2600.
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Old 18-06-2016, 16:18
Denco1
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Thanks for the update. Is it in the centre? Went around about 3 weeks ago with a phone locked to bands 1,3,7 and only got the 2600.
Same as you, I checked about 2 weeks ago and no sign of it. The first mast I've picked up is on the TA centre in Old Trafford. I'm picking up quite a few more Cell IDs which could well be from masts located closer to the centre, so I'll have a detailed search within the next couple of days.

Edit: Just in a short 1 mile walk I've picked up over 9 CellIDs, including two from monopoles, one just on the edge of the centre. They've obviously had a big switch on recently.
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Old 18-06-2016, 16:41
Denco1
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So why does it appear 2600 has been so difficult to roll out? Would it be new cabs and new panels again? I assume as they already have 1800/2100 live. It's just a quick card swap from 2/3G to a 4G card?
To enable 4G2100 it would probably need a card swap from a 3G only 2100 card to a 3G/4G 2100 card. From my quick walk, some of the sites that I know have 2600 ready panels have not been upgraded to 2100 as of yet. So this may be because they are going to install 4G2600 later, or they could also be waiting for 4G2100 too.
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Old 18-06-2016, 18:47
Skippy2005
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To enable 4G2100 it would probably need a card swap from a 3G only 2100 card to a 3G/4G 2100 card. From my quick walk, some of the sites that I know have 2600 ready panels have not been upgraded to 2100 as of yet. So this may be because they are going to install 4G2600 later, or they could also be waiting for 4G2100 too.
I see, I wasn't sure. They seem quite keen to get 1800/2100 out on 4G now across the country.
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Old 18-06-2016, 23:35
CheshireBumpkin
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I think you're right. I was talking to a guy who rents a house on the same estate as the mast down my lane and he mentioned that the landowner has been asked for permission for them to dig a trench and lay fibre to the A41 - no timescale or further progress that he was aware of though. I think O2 have another mast between here and Marbury too, which might explain the planned changes over that way too. It's great to see them making some progress, even if it is a fairly unimpressive change at this stage!
Blimey - roadworks.org confirms that they are digging fibre in to the little O2 mast down my lane in August. Hats off to O2 for upgrading such a small antiquated mast - EE can't even manage to upgrade one of the biggest and most prominent ones in the area before the middle of next year!
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Old 19-06-2016, 13:32
beans0ntoast
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O2 is only transmitting from the ex-Vodafone site (71346) on Meadow Lane and is now 2G900/3G900/3G2100/4G800/4G1800 - the old O2 mast (37283) behind Brick Kiln Road is down - no planned works that I can see, just looks to be in the process of decomm.
Thanks for the info. It's good to know that O2 are keeping their 3G2100, whilst also doing 4G1800 to help capacity (why isn't Vodafone doing this, or rolling out 2600 on most masts, I do not know). Seems to make sense to decom the old O2 mast, as that was too far out of town for 3G2100 to actually do anything.

Just for comparison's sake, would you happen to know what Vodafone are broadcasting on that site as well? Are Vodafone doing U21 as well as U09, and have Vodafone got L18 as well as L08? Or have Vodafone gone L08 only, or even L08 + L21 (though the latter is unlikely).
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Old 19-06-2016, 14:23
interactiv-uk
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Thanks for the info. It's good to know that O2 are keeping their 3G2100, whilst also doing 4G1800 to help capacity (why isn't Vodafone doing this, or rolling out 2600 on most masts, I do not know). Seems to make sense to decom the old O2 mast, as that was too far out of town for 3G2100 to actually do anything.

Just for comparison's sake, would you happen to know what Vodafone are broadcasting on that site as well? Are Vodafone doing U21 as well as U09, and have Vodafone got L18 as well as L08? Or have Vodafone gone L08 only, or even L08 + L21 (though the latter is unlikely).
Don't know i'm afraid - can't see that bit!
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Old 19-06-2016, 19:05
lightspeed2398
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Thanks for the info. It's good to know that O2 are keeping their 3G2100, whilst also doing 4G1800 to help capacity (why isn't Vodafone doing this, or rolling out 2600 on most masts, I do not know). Seems to make sense to decom the old O2 mast, as that was too far out of town for 3G2100 to actually do anything.

Just for comparison's sake, would you happen to know what Vodafone are broadcasting on that site as well? Are Vodafone doing U21 as well as U09, and have Vodafone got L18 as well as L08? Or have Vodafone gone L08 only, or even L08 + L21 (though the latter is unlikely).
o2 are keeping their 2100 because they only have 10MHz of it, unlike Vodafone who have more. They simply don't have the spectrum to refarm at the moment. Vodafone seem to be able to rollout 2100 more quickly than 1800 and 2600 and are now doing it on a widespread basis. It's also important to remember that their rollout as a whole is "less mature" than EE's, they've been doing it for less time and they've had to come back from further behind, the focus at the moment has got to be coverage, with capacity coming later.
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Old 19-06-2016, 19:06
lightspeed2398
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Same as you, I checked about 2 weeks ago and no sign of it. The first mast I've picked up is on the TA centre in Old Trafford. I'm picking up quite a few more Cell IDs which could well be from masts located closer to the centre, so I'll have a detailed search within the next couple of days.

Edit: Just in a short 1 mile walk I've picked up over 9 CellIDs, including two from monopoles, one just on the edge of the centre. They've obviously had a big switch on recently.
Thanks for the info, I'm clearly going to have to go around with a phone at some point again soon!
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:04
Denco1
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Thanks for the info, I'm clearly going to have to go around with a phone at some point again soon!
I can confirm Linley House of Portland Street is broadcasting L21. I'm getting L21 in Chorlton, Old Trafford and Hulme, not had chance to go further afield yet.

I'm beginning to wonder whether the RRUs are multimode, because a site I've visited has had no change of RRUs, but is now broadcasting L21. If all the Huawei RRUs are infact multimode, maybe this rollout is as simple as when Three enabled their additional 2x5MHz of 1800MHz and card/RRU swaps aren't necessary. Begs the question of why L21 is only just being enabled though, and why it couldn't be when 2100 was upgraded?
That could all just be nonsense of course, we could either do with a Vodafone insider on this forum, or a very good zoom lens to see which model the RRU is.
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:11
Skippy2005
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I can confirm Linley House of Portland Street is broadcasting L21. I'm getting L21 in Chorlton, Old Trafford and Hulme, not had chance to go further afield yet.

I'm beginning to wonder whether the RRUs are multimode, because a site I've visited has had no change of RRUs, but is now broadcasting L21. If all the Huawei RRUs are infact multimode, maybe this rollout is as simple as when Three enabled their additional 2x5MHz of 1800MHz and card/RRU swaps aren't necessary. Begs the question of why L21 is only just being enabled though, and why it couldn't be when 2100 was upgraded?
That could all just be nonsense of course, we could either do with a Vodafone insider on this forum, or a very good zoom lens to see which model the RRU is.
I'm assuming L2100 and L800 are being CA'd, what speeds are you getting if they are(nt).

Thanks
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:12
beans0ntoast
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Don't know i'm afraid - can't see that bit!
Never mind - thanks anyway! Seeing as though Raunds isn't too far away from where I live, I'll take a look the next time I am headed out that way. I might be able to make out what is going on.

I would be very surprised, though, if Vodafone didn't roll out U21 at that site, seeing as though O2 already has it. I'd also be surprised if there wasn't 1800, seeing as though O2 also have 2100, though I am less certain on whether it would be L1800, or the inferior G1800. (I have noticed, from other posts here, and Pedro's website, that Vodafone have rolled out G1800 in locations where O2 have rolled out L1800.)

Though, if Vodafone and O2 already have G09 on a mast, why are they also (sometimes) putting G18 on the same mast? I wouldn't have said capacity was the reasoning, as GSM in general has very little in the way of data capacity (and U09/U21 can be used for phone calls instead of G18), and coverage wouldn't be a reason either, as G18 has less coverage than G09. I'd have thought that 4G coverage and capacity would be more important, with the use of L08 and L18.

But then, I could be wrong...
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:17
Denco1
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I'm assuming L2100 and L800 are being CA'd, what speeds are you getting if they are(nt).

Thanks
I don't believe the LG G4 is capable of aggregating B1+B20, so I'm unable to test that. I'm consistently getting between 10-20mbps download on L21 alone.
I'm not sure of the priority levels either as I don't have access to an iPhone.
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:27
lightspeed2398
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I can confirm Linley House of Portland Street is broadcasting L21. I'm getting L21 in Chorlton, Old Trafford and Hulme, not had chance to go further afield yet.

I'm beginning to wonder whether the RRUs are multimode, because a site I've visited has had no change of RRUs, but is now broadcasting L21. If all the Huawei RRUs are infact multimode, maybe this rollout is as simple as when Three enabled their additional 2x5MHz of 1800MHz and card/RRU swaps aren't necessary. Begs the question of why L21 is only just being enabled though, and why it couldn't be when 2100 was upgraded?
That could all just be nonsense of course, we could either do with a Vodafone insider on this forum, or a very good zoom lens to see which model the RRU is.
If they are capable of doing multiple technologies I'd hope that we'll see a quick rollout just to give EE that extra boost of competition. Would still rather have some more widespread 2600 though. I wonder if they planned to do a lot more 2600 at the beginning but found it more difficult than they were expecting so this is the fallback. Could also be that this is a lot cheaper and as they're having to increase spending to meet coverage targets on the 800 the priority has changed.
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:30
Skippy2005
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I don't believe the LG G4 is capable of aggregating B1+B20, so I'm unable to test that. I'm consistently getting between 10-20mbps download on L21 alone.
I'm not sure of the priority levels either as I don't have access to an iPhone.
That's quite good actually I would safely say not many sites have L2100 so as it becomes more dense speeds will increase significantly. What's the max speed on L2100 about 40? Under ideal conditions?

Thanks
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Old 19-06-2016, 20:51
Denco1
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That's quite good actually I would safely say not many sites have L2100 so as it becomes more dense speeds will increase significantly. What's the max speed on L2100 about 40? Under ideal conditions?

Thanks
About 9 out of 15 sites I've visited so far are now L21. I wouldn't expect too much more of a speed increase as it becomes more dense, as I'm testing when I'm in good SINR conditions.

Maximum speed is 37.5mbps downlink and 12.5mbps uplink, in ideal conditions.
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