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Vodafone and O2 4G experience thread |
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#4451 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Totnes, Devon
Posts: 6,693
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IMO Vo2 and EE will be 4Ging all of their masts....eventually
EE will complete their 2G refresh/4G base layer before the end of 2017. VF I imagine will be about 8 months to 1 year behind.. VF a bit limited at the mo as they are CSFB-ing to 3G900 and that's severely limiting the 800 footprint. Should imagine they are aiming to get CSFB to 2G at some point though and that will make some difference to their 4G footprint in general. |
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#4452 |
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,534
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Quote:
All MNOs will have to 4G all their sites eventually since 4G will become the new base layer (replacing 2G, one day). 5G will then sit on top of the 4G layer for boosts in speed and capacity where needed.
EE will complete their 2G refresh/4G base layer before the end of 2017. VF I imagine will be about 8 months to 1 year behind.. VF a bit limited at the mo as they are CSFB-ing to 3G900 and that's severely limiting the 800 footprint. Should imagine they are aiming to get CSFB to 2G at some point though and that will make some difference to their 4G footprint in general. |
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#4453 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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As more data devices move to 4G from 3G, does this typically mean that the 3G cells are much more lightly loaded, thus don't breathe in as much/at all?
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#4454 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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Quote:
All MNOs will have to 4G all their sites eventually since 4G will become the new base layer (replacing 2G, one day). 5G will then sit on top of the 4G layer for boosts in speed and capacity where needed.
EE will complete their 2G refresh/4G base layer before the end of 2017. VF I imagine will be about 8 months to 1 year behind.. VF a bit limited at the mo as they are CSFB-ing to 3G900 and that's severely limiting the 800 footprint. Should imagine they are aiming to get CSFB to 2G at some point though and that will make some difference to their 4G footprint in general. |
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#4455 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Woore, Cheshire/Shropshire
Posts: 1,675
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Quote:
All MNOs will have to 4G all their sites eventually since 4G will become the new base layer (replacing 2G, one day). 5G will then sit on top of the 4G layer for boosts in speed and capacity where needed.
EE will complete their 2G refresh/4G base layer before the end of 2017. VF I imagine will be about 8 months to 1 year behind.. Should imagine they are aiming to get CSFB to 2G at some point though and that will make some difference to their 4G footprint in general. As for your 2g/4g refresh timetables, I'd like you to be correct, but I have a feeling things will slip just that bit longer, I reckon EE will take until mid 2018 before all 2g/3g masts are done, VO2 might just get a layer albeit thin in places of 3g/4g by year end much like where EE are right now, but could take well into 2019 or 2020 before all masts get done, Longer if they get bogged down in revisiting sites to add extra capacity due to some of the odd decisions taken early in the roll out program and the strange lack of rolling out additional capacity 4g bands by Vodafone and O2 in each other's half of the country. |
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#4456 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Not leaving the EU (quite yet)
Posts: 300
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Yes & no. The data load is taken off but remember that voice traffic is still at the moment all being sent to 3G/2G. So there's still an element of load. The cell breathing effect will be reduced. 3G is still a bastard to work with. 4G should be able to exceed the 3G coverage of a cell on equivalent frequencies with proper optimisation and conditions.
I think it's already been switched off in Australia, Singapore and the US. For Voda/O2, I thought they'd bulk up 3G900 but move most of 3G2100 to 4G2100 Voda seem to be keener to refarm 3G2100 to 4G rather than use 4G2600 extensively. |
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#4457 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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Isn't 2G getting switched off in near future?
I think it's already been switched off in Australia, Singapore and the US. For Voda/O2, I thought they'd bulk up 3G900 but move most of 3G2100 to 4G2100 Voda seem to be keener to refarm 3G2100 to 4G rather than use 4G2600 extensively. |
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#4458 |
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 312
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Here 3G will with 95% probability go first. 2020 is VF's Europe wide target.
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#4459 |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 4,724
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Isn't 2G getting switched off in near future?
I think it's already been switched off in Australia, Singapore and the US. |
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#4460 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
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so why Voda refarm 2G900 to 3G900 i dont get it. when 3G gets switched off what will happen to 3G900?
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#4461 |
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 312
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Refarm to 4G...... they don't need all that spectrum on 2G but if they shuffle 3G off U21 to U09 then they can open up another LTE channel on 2100 so makes sense to shuffle it. Why would they keep it on 2G if it's not needed there.
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#4462 |
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,377
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ok but if voda are going to switch of 3G in 2020 what will happen with the 3G900? all these upgrades and money spending?
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#4463 |
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,377
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On another matter didn't VOD used to offer a landline number on Red plans? So you could have a geographic number which was linked to your phone?
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#4464 |
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: This forum
Posts: 3,389
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Quote:
Isn't 2G getting switched off in near future?
I think it's already been switched off in Australia, Singapore and the US. Quote:
For Voda/O2, I thought they'd bulk up 3G900 but move most of 3G2100 to 4G2100Voda seem to be keener to refarm 3G2100 to 4G rather than use 4G2600 extensively.
I can see this being done carefully and slowly, as there are people (especially in corporates) using very old phones (think iPhone 3GS / Samsung Galaxy S3) that use tiny amounts of data but don't support 3G900. Vodafone is the only one talking about 3G switch off, by end 2020, and so they will be watching how many handsets. I don't think O2 has said anything.Capacity moves are a different thing. |
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#4465 |
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 103
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I have noticed on an application that the drawings say CTIL - Non Beacon and they have no TEF site reference. I wonder if O2 have to contribute as the site will be built by CTIL yet O2 currently are not using it.
I see on other applications they have Grow The Grid on which I have seen talked about on here but do we have any more details to understand what the VF plan actually is such as a press release - I appreciate they will not hand a list of sites out but there must be more information than "adding coverage in specific areas" |
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#4466 |
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Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 62
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Australia is in process of shutting down 2G on their 3 networks, Telstra (biggest) has switched off, Optus is 1st of April 17, and Vodafone is 30 Sept 2017. AT&T in the US started turning off their 2G network on 31st Dec 2016. Singapore is shutting down by end April 2017.
I can see this being done carefully and slowly, as there are people (especially in corporates) using very old phones (think iPhone 3GS / Samsung Galaxy S3) that use tiny amounts of data but don't support 3G900. Vodafone is the only one talking about 3G switch off, by end 2020, and so they will be watching how many handsets. I don't think O2 has said anything. Capacity moves are a different thing. The iPhone 3G and 3GS does not support 3G900, though how many people are still using old 3GS' that have pretty much zero app support on a very old OS? Shutting down 2G would make basic, non-3G phones obsolete, as well as smartphones that do not support 3G (like the iPhone 2G); however, switching off 3G (which is what Vodafone wants to do by the end of 2020) would make any non-4G phone into a basic phone with pretty much zero data access unless using Wi-Fi (there won't be any GPRS sites then but EDGE is still painfully slow unless for really basic stuff). And there's also a lot of non-VoLTE devices which would be shunted onto 2G for the calls, thus congesting up whatever small amount of 2G capacity Vodafone still has switched on. Maybe this is why Vodafone aren't keen on refarming their 1800MHz spectrum (unlike O2), so that they can keep the 5MHz 1800 for 2G to compliment the small amount of 900MHz 2G for calls on non-VoLTE devices? |
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#4467 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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Quote:
ok but if voda are going to switch of 3G in 2020 what will happen with the 3G900? all these upgrades and money spending?
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#4468 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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Perhaps it's quite easy to re-farm 3G to 4G when they are ready? At the moment they will still have a lot of users with 3G only phones and their coverage is still appalling for 3G generally although that seems to be changing fast. By offering the full service they will compete with EE. Going 2G/4G only is still going to leave a lot of users without data for a year or 3.
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#4469 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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Quote:
From what I've seen online, the Galaxy S3 does support 900MHz 3G. Don't know about the S or S2 though.
The iPhone 3G and 3GS does not support 3G900, though how many people are still using old 3GS' that have pretty much zero app support on a very old OS? |
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#4470 |
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 876
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S2 supports it I think. There'll be still be a fair few U21 only devices. Ever dwindling number though. Most early smartphones or advanced feature phones will be dying battery wise and component wise. Probably some of the problem is corporate customers
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#4471 |
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,307
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The Samsung GS2 will be 9 years old in 2020. Will it still be working then? If it is, I'm not sure the network would care about them leaving due to 3G being switched off as they would be probably be a low spend customer.
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