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Vodafone and O2 4G experience thread |
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#376 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 14,636
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Quote:
I have a question about Vodafone. My phone will connect to EDGE in my house and when the signal weakens a bit it will switch over to GPRS.
My question is, why? They're both running over the same frequency right? I don't see why the phone would choose to switch to GPRS for no reason? |
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#377 |
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Cambridge
Posts: 1,259
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Only some masts are EDGE enabled, other GPRS.
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#378 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Quote:
Same reason your phone switches between 3G/H/H+
IIRC correctly, Android phones show H+ when data is actually being used, H when they're idling. I never see 3G anymore. |
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#379 |
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Midlands
Posts: 2,860
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Quote:
Stoke is being done under Cornerstone Voda are the Lead installer but masts will be VODA/O2
https://planning.stoke.gov.uk/online...ILS-146237.pdf Ive found 28 applications for CTIL/MBNL mast upgrades/ new installs on Stokes website! They will just install the voda cabs and o2 come back at a later date. Now seen two sites - one with foubdations for the one cab and one with the one cabinate actually installed. No foundations laid for the o2. |
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#380 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Probably like stoke as Vodafone are doing it as not part of the cornerstone agreement.
Looking on roadworks.org, Vodafone is adding another 4G mast in Alton, the company is Vodafone. Should this not be Cornerstone if it was O2 and Vodafone? |
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#381 |
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 499
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Cornerstone isn't listed on roadworks.org maybe o2 don't see Stoke as a priority. Voda have the lead in, Stoke as I said. We'll see
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#382 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Quote:
Cornerstone isn't listed on roadworks.org maybe o2 don't see Stoke as a priority. Voda have the lead in, Stoke as I said. We'll see
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#383 |
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Midlands
Posts: 2,860
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Have your sites got both cabs installed? All these in Stoke are just having one installed. That I suspect is the give away if your just getting the one operator at this point in time.
Does seem bazaar logic as surly the cost savings come by doing everything at the same time? |
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#384 |
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 499
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There are sites near me where there is only one cabinet but voda and 02 4G is working. Voda use the rbs6102 Ericsson or the smaller Huawei 3900 o2 use Lancaster cabs on new installs 4G in one and the rest in the other.
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#385 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Quote:
Have your sites got both cabs installed? All these in Stoke are just having one installed. That I suspect is the give away if your just getting the one operator at this point in time.
Does seem bazaar logic as surly the cost savings come by doing everything at the same time? |
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#386 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: This forum
Posts: 3,388
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Hartley Wintney ( Hampshire, near M3 )
Just been visiting friends and discovered EE and Vodafone 4G both now available in this small town/village. However I assume due to terrain the coverage of EE's 4G is great outdoors, but disappears inside to 1 bar 3G managing 1megabit, but Vodafone 4G managed 50mbps! 6 months ago this was a vodafone 2G with no data area. Nice win for Voda.
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#387 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 14,636
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Quote:
Just been visiting friends and discovered EE and Vodafone 4G both now available in this small town/village. However I assume due to terrain the coverage of EE's 4G is great outdoors, but disappears inside to 1 bar 3G managing 1megabit, but Vodafone 4G managed 50mbps! 6 months ago this was a vodafone 2G with no data area. Nice win for Voda.
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#388 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Yes I concur that in areas with Vodafone/O2 4G, the coverage is much better indoors than EE.
In Winchester, it's between very poor indoor 2G on EE or good 4G on O2/Vodafone. Which would you choose? |
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#389 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
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Posts: 3,388
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Yes I concur that in areas with Vodafone/O2 4G, the coverage is much better indoors than EE.
In Winchester, it's between very poor indoor 2G on EE or good 4G on O2/Vodafone. Which would you choose? I haven't been to Winchester for a while, its amazing EE hasn't managed to do 4G there yet, must be a planning application or backhaul mess. I assume when EE launch 800 (maybe with VoLTE) then the in-building coverage will be the same. |
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#390 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
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EE does suffer from poor 3G in Winchester - don't really know the reason behind that.
But yes, I agree about the 4G/3G issue. Leave Winchester and it's back to GPRS. |
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#391 |
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Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Midlands
Posts: 2,860
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There are two cabinets, identical-sized, one next to another.
Interesting the two masts Vodafone have selected in Stoke to kick it all off. |
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#392 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,662
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Quote:
I have a question about Vodafone. My phone will connect to EDGE in my house and when the signal weakens a bit it will switch over to GPRS.
My question is, why? They're both running over the same frequency right? I don't see why the phone would choose to switch to GPRS for no reason? |
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#393 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 1,662
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Quote:
I assume when EE launch 800 (maybe with VoLTE) then the in-building coverage will be the same. It's not so much a difference in propagation but if you have more spectrum at a particular frequency on 4G then the signal remains usable down to lower levels. It's probably easiest to understand by accepting that if you have double the spectrum, then the maximum speed achievable is always double what it is with half the spectrum. So as the signal gets worse (lower and lower SINR), speeds come down no matter how much spectrum you have but 10MHz will always be capable of double the speed 5MHz can achieve. Obviously at some point it becomes so slow as to be unusable (which could be too slow for a volte call). However if double the spectrum is always double the speed then clearly the point where it becomes unusable is at a lower signal level than with half the spectrum. In this sense it could be said that coverage is better with the extra spectrum. It's the same for EE at 1800 where going from 10 to 20MHz should see a small improvement in effective coverage and EE 1800 should be better than Three 1800. Anyway that's the theory lesson. I suspect in practice the difference, whilst measurable, is small. It is a factor taken into account in Ofcom's calculation as to whether O2 meet their 2017 coverage obligation though. |
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#394 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
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Posts: 3,388
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Actually in theory and according to the standards VO2 800 should be better for coverage than 3EE 800 assuming identical location, power, equipment etc.
Fascinating thank you. Could explain why all that's mentioned in the big EE "manifesto" is to use 800 for rural areas. Do you think EE will use two separate blocks of 1800 at any time? ie, 4x20 or 2x2x20 ? Is that possible? They seem to have quite a lot of spectrum even with 2G taken in to account? |
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#395 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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So will phones have some kind-of minimum bandwidth test for a VoLTE call or will they always attempt to connect? Since it's going over the 4G network, I assume voice quality will be improved - will it sound bad and have weird popping noises like 2G/3G calls do?
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#396 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: This forum
Posts: 3,388
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will it sound bad and have weird popping noises like 2G/3G calls do?
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#397 |
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 2,875
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Ahh that will be why Tesco Mobile (uses O2) has such poor voice quality - amazed they don't have HD Voice yet!
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#398 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Totnes, Devon
Posts: 6,687
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Quote:
Actually in theory and according to the standards VO2 800 should be better for coverage than 3EE 800 assuming identical location, power, equipment etc.
It's not so much a difference in propagation but if you have more spectrum at a particular frequency on 4G then the signal remains usable down to lower levels. It's probably easiest to understand by accepting that if you have double the spectrum, then the maximum speed achievable is always double what it is with half the spectrum. So as the signal gets worse (lower and lower SINR), speeds come down no matter how much spectrum you have but 10MHz will always be capable of double the speed 5MHz can achieve. Obviously at some point it becomes so slow as to be unusable (which could be too slow for a volte call). However if double the spectrum is always double the speed then clearly the point where it becomes unusable is at a lower signal level than with half the spectrum. In this sense it could be said that coverage is better with the extra spectrum. It's the same for EE at 1800 where going from 10 to 20MHz should see a small improvement in effective coverage and EE 1800 should be better than Three 1800. Anyway that's the theory lesson. I suspect in practice the difference, whilst measurable, is small. It is a factor taken into account in Ofcom's calculation as to whether O2 meet their 2017 coverage obligation though. Makes sense, but then, I'm a computer bloke so anything makes sense to me! ![]() I feel you are right in your closing paragraph where you say it will probably not be noticeable. New 20Mhz mast here (Harbertonford) where coverage seems quite limited. Although tonight driving along at 60Mph away from the mast with a 1 bar signal (I know, bars don't mean anything), I got 106Mbps!! Bonkers quite frankly!! Yet the Beacon Hill TV transmitter near Torquay which is 10Mhz throws it's signal at least 12Km and I get 31Meg with an equally weak signal. In another thread somewhere we were discussing bars and the fact that while 2G or 3G will let you have a 1 bar signal that is unusable, LTE won't give you anything unless you can actually use it. Makes sense as far as VoLTE is concerned methinks! |
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#399 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Destination: Hard Brexit
Posts: 6,364
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Quote:
Just been visiting friends and discovered EE and Vodafone 4G both now available in this small town/village. However I assume due to terrain the coverage of EE's 4G is great outdoors, but disappears inside to 1 bar 3G managing 1megabit, but Vodafone 4G managed 50mbps! 6 months ago this was a vodafone 2G with no data area. Nice win for Voda.
Will be interesting to see what happens with Voda 4G here. I get 3-4 bars 3G indoors on Voda. |
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#400 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
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At my place, 3 bars of EE 4G outside, the second I step indoors it drops to 1 bar 3G then down again to 2 bars 2G.
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Will be interesting to see what happens with Voda 4G here. I get 3-4 bars 3G indoors on Voda.
You'll probably get good indoor coverage, at EE 3G type speeds. 10 to 15mbps. Outdoors in low load 30 to 50mbps. If anything like that I'm seeing right now. Once EE upgrade all their 2G masts to transmit 4G, then EE should be faster. Voda will fight back with 2600 but indoor penetration of that will be similar to 2100mhz 3G - and Voda's mast spacing is much further apart than EE's.
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