Also, when posters reference a proposed coverage map for Vodafone or they suggest a mast is to be upgraded, where are they finding that?
Vodafone and O2 4G experience thread
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Originally Posted by Ideally1gig:
“Also, when posters reference a proposed coverage map for Vodafone or they suggest a mast is to be upgraded, where are they finding that?”
“Also, when posters reference a proposed coverage map for Vodafone or they suggest a mast is to be upgraded, where are they finding that?”
I usually find it from Vodafone's coverage checker here:
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/n...-map/index.htm
Vodafone's checker is unique in that, if you type a location in, there is a button to view either the current coverage, or the planned coverage (which will be within the next 3 months). Usually, if there is a planned upgrade for one technology, then all technologies (so 2G, 3G and 4G) will all get upgraded on that mast.
In regards to suggesting whether a mast is being upgraded or not, have a look at the masts when you see them. If, all of a sudden, you notice new panels on a mast, replacing some fairly legacy panels, then chances are the mast is being upgraded, or in the process of. (Though that isn't the case all the time.)
Other people on here know more about this than what I do though - if I've missed anything, or got anything wrong, feel free to correct me!
Originally Posted by beans0ntoast:
“I usually find it from Vodafone's coverage checker here:
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/n...-map/index.htm”
“I usually find it from Vodafone's coverage checker here:
https://www.vodafone.co.uk/explore/n...-map/index.htm”
When CTIL submits a planning application to the local authority for a Voda/O2 mast upgrade they usually add the new coverage to the "planned coverage" overlay a few weeks later.
Depending on who is doing the upgrade they may only show 3G or 4G planned coverage, so you have to flip between the two tabs to get an idea of what the coverage is likely to be.
Sometimes if there are objections from local residents (happens a lot...) and the application is likely to take longer than the usual 3--6 months to be approved then they remove the predicted coverage, hence why people report their mast was schedule for upgrade but then subsequently removed from the "planned coverage" overlay.
Other sources of information about planned upgrade include local planning authority sites (search for "antenna") and also keep an eye on www.roadworks.org as sometimes work to install new masts, power and backhaul can appear on there under future work.
some of the above info isnt true firstly O2 dont have enough spectrum to use 2100 for 4G However they are roling out 4g 5mhz on 1800 to compliment their 10mhz 800 layer this is happening where ever O2 are in charge (east side of uk) Voda are adding 5/10mhz of 2100 to many urban sites together with 2600 and their bas layer at 800 and have 45Mhz of spectrum live on some sites in central London. I havent seen 2100/2600 outside of the M25 yet (other than in Birmingham and Manchester) I dont think Voda putting the coming soon on the map has much to do with planning apps councils have 8 weeks usually to deal with them and no pp is often now required for upgrades as long as the panels are swapped like for like in terms of size and no extra bracketery is involved. Devon appears to be finally on the map so to speak i am awaiting a contact at ctils reply on the status of several south hams sites including Marley head and Buckfastleigh
Originally Posted by M1kos:
“some of the above info isnt true firstly O2 dont have enough spectrum to use 2100 for 4G However they are roling out 4g 5mhz on 1800 to compliment their 10mhz 800 layer this is happening where ever O2 are in charge (east side of uk) Voda are adding 5/10mhz of 2100 to many urban sites together with 2600 and their bas layer at 800 and have 45Mhz of spectrum live on some sites in central London. I havent seen 2100/2600 outside of the M25 yet (other than in Birmingham and Manchester) I dont think Voda putting the coming soon on the map has much to do with planning apps councils have 8 weeks usually to deal with them and no pp is often now required for upgrades as long as the panels are swapped like for like in terms of size and no extra bracketery is involved. Devon appears to be finally on the map so to speak i am awaiting a contact at ctils reply on the status of several south hams sites including Marley head and Buckfastleigh”
“some of the above info isnt true firstly O2 dont have enough spectrum to use 2100 for 4G However they are roling out 4g 5mhz on 1800 to compliment their 10mhz 800 layer this is happening where ever O2 are in charge (east side of uk) Voda are adding 5/10mhz of 2100 to many urban sites together with 2600 and their bas layer at 800 and have 45Mhz of spectrum live on some sites in central London. I havent seen 2100/2600 outside of the M25 yet (other than in Birmingham and Manchester) I dont think Voda putting the coming soon on the map has much to do with planning apps councils have 8 weeks usually to deal with them and no pp is often now required for upgrades as long as the panels are swapped like for like in terms of size and no extra bracketery is involved. Devon appears to be finally on the map so to speak i am awaiting a contact at ctils reply on the status of several south hams sites including Marley head and Buckfastleigh”
o2 do have enough spectrum to do L21, maybe not at the moment but it'll have to go over at some point. They would need the second U09 carrier and demand to lessen on the 3G layer slightly and even then they could probably only do 5MHz but it is possible.
Originally Posted by M1kos:
“some of the above info isnt true firstly O2 dont have enough spectrum to use 2100 for 4G However they are roling out 4g 5mhz on 1800 to compliment their 10mhz 800 layer this is happening where ever O2 are in charge (east side of uk) Voda are adding 5/10mhz of 2100 to many urban sites together with 2600 and their bas layer at 800 and have 45Mhz of spectrum live on some sites in central London. I havent seen 2100/2600 outside of the M25 yet (other than in Birmingham and Manchester) I dont think Voda putting the coming soon on the map has much to do with planning apps councils have 8 weeks usually to deal with them and no pp is often now required for upgrades as long as the panels are swapped like for like in terms of size and no extra bracketery is involved. Devon appears to be finally on the map so to speak i am awaiting a contact at ctils reply on the status of several south hams sites including Marley head and Buckfastleigh”
“some of the above info isnt true firstly O2 dont have enough spectrum to use 2100 for 4G However they are roling out 4g 5mhz on 1800 to compliment their 10mhz 800 layer this is happening where ever O2 are in charge (east side of uk) Voda are adding 5/10mhz of 2100 to many urban sites together with 2600 and their bas layer at 800 and have 45Mhz of spectrum live on some sites in central London. I havent seen 2100/2600 outside of the M25 yet (other than in Birmingham and Manchester) I dont think Voda putting the coming soon on the map has much to do with planning apps councils have 8 weeks usually to deal with them and no pp is often now required for upgrades as long as the panels are swapped like for like in terms of size and no extra bracketery is involved. Devon appears to be finally on the map so to speak i am awaiting a contact at ctils reply on the status of several south hams sites including Marley head and Buckfastleigh”
Will be interested in Marley if you do hear anything thanks.
Originally Posted by M1kos:
“Yes but not whilst they wanna 2100 it for 3G”
“Yes but not whilst they wanna 2100 it for 3G”
O2 have 2x10MHz +1x5 of 2100MHz spectrum. Let's focus on the 2x10.
Drop 3G to 2x5MHz and then use 2x5MHz for LTE..
Vodafone has 2x14.8MHz 2100.
In 2x5MHz LTE areas, 2x9.8 left for 3G.
In 2x10MHz LTE areas, 2x4.8 left for 3G.
Maybe a slight problem for the moment for O2 compared with Vodafone in reducing the total amount of spectrum devoted to 2G and 3G is that O2 have more than double the amount of voice traffic Vodafone have.
Originally Posted by japaul:
“Maybe a slight problem for the moment for O2 compared with Vodafone in reducing the total amount of spectrum devoted to 2G and 3G is that O2 have more than double the amount of voice traffic Vodafone have.”
“Maybe a slight problem for the moment for O2 compared with Vodafone in reducing the total amount of spectrum devoted to 2G and 3G is that O2 have more than double the amount of voice traffic Vodafone have.”
VoLTE would help that situation. o2 have said 2016 I think for that it's just whether they can manage it. Coverage is probably good enough to do it now
I've found that the planned coverage is only half accurate although it has been better of late. Totnes has been planned for 3G (VOD) on and off for the last 4 years. Still nothing. O2 has 3G900 but appears to be connected to some kind of steam powered comms technology as it doesn't work at all. It's a shame really as you lose faith in it. I just hope people don't sign contracts on the strength of planned coverage which then vanishes forever. Or for that matter O2's supposedly good 3G down here which is in fact useless at the moment.
The O2/Vodafone coverage checker for my postcode is just a complete fiction now. It seems to think a mast has been enabled but it hasn't!
Vodafone have added a new button to their coverage map showing estimated data speed. Enter a location, then next to the "View our planned coverage" button there is a new one saying "View data speed".
Originally Posted by M1kos:
“It's a load of rubbish thou as I've put in several places with 2600 and it just says 60meg!”
“It's a load of rubbish thou as I've put in several places with 2600 and it just says 60meg!”
Yes, it doesn't seem to be based on anything beyond a generic set of numbers for 2G, 3G and 4G. Doesn't take into account CA or 2600. Also the range of possible speeds given is huge. Hardly any use at all!
4G current data report
The maximum data speed in this postcode is:
• 3.8 Mbps - 60.0 Mbps (Download)
• 900 Kbps - 23.2 Mbps (Upload)
3G current data report
The maximum data speed in this postcode is:
• 980 Kbps - 22.5 Mbps (Download)
• 200 Kbps - 4.6 Mbps (Upload)
2G current data report
The maximum data speed in this postcode is:
• 0 Kbps - 200 Kbps (Download)
• 0 Kbps - 200 Kbps (Upload)
It seems to be partially based on coverage levels, those with outdoor signal generally show slightly slower speeds than indoor signal.
I feel this means we will never see a 4G+ toggle on the map though
I'd much prefer that, even if they do update this to include 1800/2100/2600MHz locations. The advantage to Vodafone is that you can't zoom out with this model to see how little 4G+ coverage they've got in many locations compared to EE.
I feel this means we will never see a 4G+ toggle on the map though
I'd much prefer that, even if they do update this to include 1800/2100/2600MHz locations. The advantage to Vodafone is that you can't zoom out with this model to see how little 4G+ coverage they've got in many locations compared to EE.
Originally Posted by Denco1:
“It seems to be partially based on coverage levels, those with outdoor signal generally show slightly slower speeds than indoor signal.
I feel this means we will never see a 4G+ toggle on the map though
I'd much prefer that, even if they do update this to include 1800/2100/2600MHz locations. The advantage to Vodafone is that you can't zoom out with this model to see how little 4G+ coverage they've got in many locations compared to EE.”
“It seems to be partially based on coverage levels, those with outdoor signal generally show slightly slower speeds than indoor signal.
I feel this means we will never see a 4G+ toggle on the map though
I'd much prefer that, even if they do update this to include 1800/2100/2600MHz locations. The advantage to Vodafone is that you can't zoom out with this model to see how little 4G+ coverage they've got in many locations compared to EE.”
Yeah but EE's map is way over-optimistic anyway.
My local mast is back up with 4G using the old 2003 panels. And my G4 confirms band 20 signal is strong and getting out well very odd no o2 thou
The roadworks.org record for fibre-ing the little O2 2G mast down the lane from me has reappeared. It was scheduled for around now originally, and then disappeared for a month or two. It's now set for December.
Interestingly, although the mast is currently O2 (and Airwave) only, it must be going to CTIL as it is described in the roadworks.org entry as a 'Vodaphone mast' (sic). I assume it will get 3G and possibly 4G for both operators at some point after the fibre is installed.
Nothing was showing under planned coverage on the VF checker the last time I looked.
Interestingly, although the mast is currently O2 (and Airwave) only, it must be going to CTIL as it is described in the roadworks.org entry as a 'Vodaphone mast' (sic). I assume it will get 3G and possibly 4G for both operators at some point after the fibre is installed.
Nothing was showing under planned coverage on the VF checker the last time I looked.
Originally Posted by Stereo Steve:
“Yeah but EE's map is way over-optimistic anyway.”
“Yeah but EE's map is way over-optimistic anyway.”
The 4G+ is pretty accurate, even if the rest isn't.
Ever wondered what's inside these masts' cabinets, cabins and streetworks poles?
Mobile Phone Masts Inside: Cabins, Cabinets, Bunkers + streetworks poles
RBS6102s are shown in all their glory too.
Mobile Phone Masts Inside: Cabins, Cabinets, Bunkers + streetworks poles
RBS6102s are shown in all their glory too.
Originally Posted by M1kos:
“^^ i saw this yesterday was gonna shout you but thought you'd already of seen it !”
“^^ i saw this yesterday was gonna shout you but thought you'd already of seen it !”
We probably saw it at the same time...
It seems CTIL (O2 in this area) are not quite finished with Stretham, Ely yet.
I just got another text from O2 saying they'll be bringing 4G to Stretham "In the next few days", even though we've had 4G since around May!
Is more work scheduled then? What's going on?
I just got another text from O2 saying they'll be bringing 4G to Stretham "In the next few days", even though we've had 4G since around May!
Is more work scheduled then? What's going on?
Originally Posted by RileyM:
“It seems CTIL (O2 in this area) are not quite finished with Stretham, Ely yet.
I just got another text from O2 saying they'll be bringing 4G to Stretham "In the next few days", even though we've had 4G since around May!
Is more work scheduled then? What's going on?”
“It seems CTIL (O2 in this area) are not quite finished with Stretham, Ely yet.
I just got another text from O2 saying they'll be bringing 4G to Stretham "In the next few days", even though we've had 4G since around May!
Is more work scheduled then? What's going on?”
I don't tend to poke around on mum's phone much unless she asks me, but I don't recall her getting any texts about 4G upgrades at all, and she is on O2 small business plan (it suits her needs). Not disagreeing, just saying really.
If I put the postcode for the mast in O2's status checker, I currently get "Sorry a phone mast close to you isn't working". Everything seems OK, though, i've just looked at her phone lol
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