Guys I saw 4G coverage is more spreaded than 2G on the map between Woodcote and Ipsden main road.Very interesting. 4G800 might be live now.Unless they have made a mistake. Have not checked elsewhere
EE 800 Mhz 4G to go live next week
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The coverage checker isn't showing anything different BUT I now get all blue bars for the indoor/outdoor coverage (rather than one bar less).
Just checked elsewhere and see that where is 2G outdoors in some areas then 4G comes filling the gap with 4G indoors. I think thay must have started soft 4G800 roll out. Or just as I said must be map mistake. Just looked at Ludgershall and shows only outdoors 2G but when you switch to 4G it goes good 4G coverage
Originally Posted by jonmorris:
“Perhaps, but I think VoLTE is a nightmare for everyone. It will be a big talking point at MWC next year, especially as there is going to be a lot of talk about 5G and obviously voice needs to be working over that.
I mean, the industry wouldn't make the same mistake again. Would it?”
“Perhaps, but I think VoLTE is a nightmare for everyone. It will be a big talking point at MWC next year, especially as there is going to be a lot of talk about 5G and obviously voice needs to be working over that.
I mean, the industry wouldn't make the same mistake again. Would it?”
The whole VoLTE issue just seems such an almost unbelievable screw up on the part of the entire industry.
If I was a network planner I think I might give up on ideas of a 3G switch off any time even remotely soon, as it's needed for voice calls.
If the industry can't sort out voice on 5G before it's launched then they'd collectively deserve all the opprobrium that would go their way.
I forget when I first discovered 4G was going to launch without voice. It was a dinner with Qualcomm, and I don't even think many other journalists realised or appreciated what it meant when they went away talking up how good 4G was going to be.
I really wish I could remember the year, but it just have been 2010 or 2011 at a guess. So 5 or 6 years later it's still far from fully operational.
I really wish I could remember the year, but it just have been 2010 or 2011 at a guess. So 5 or 6 years later it's still far from fully operational.
The whole industry has got its self into a right mess with 4g, no voice support out the box has proven to be a real killer in the success of 4g, in isolation it mjght not have seemed such a big deal but when you think about the added robustness of a 4g signal compared to the other techs that means there always a chance it will be around where other systems have failed, mix that with design flaws of the previous generation of technology, of course we're talking about 3g and cell breathing and suddenly your in a hole new world of crap.
For the simple fact that as we speak and I guess for most of 2017 there still are 4g phones out the box with no network volte access means all networks basic layers of 4g will have to remain of low power for many years to come with the support of a certain amount of 3g for call backup, lots of out of date tech will be limping on for a few years yet I fear.
For the simple fact that as we speak and I guess for most of 2017 there still are 4g phones out the box with no network volte access means all networks basic layers of 4g will have to remain of low power for many years to come with the support of a certain amount of 3g for call backup, lots of out of date tech will be limping on for a few years yet I fear.
Originally Posted by jonmorris:
“Perhaps, but I think VoLTE is a nightmare for everyone. It will be a big talking point at MWC next year, especially as there is going to be a lot of talk about 5G and obviously voice needs to be working over that.
I mean, the industry wouldn't make the same mistake again. Would it?”
“Perhaps, but I think VoLTE is a nightmare for everyone. It will be a big talking point at MWC next year, especially as there is going to be a lot of talk about 5G and obviously voice needs to be working over that.
I mean, the industry wouldn't make the same mistake again. Would it?”
No.
Besides, 5G will be very much an add on technology to a 4G base layer.
Originally Posted by DevonBloke:
“No.
Besides, 5G will be very much an add on technology to a 4G base layer.”
“No.
Besides, 5G will be very much an add on technology to a 4G base layer.”
A 4G base layer that doesn't support voice 'out of the box'.
Originally Posted by binary:
“A 4G base layer that doesn't support voice 'out of the box'.”
“A 4G base layer that doesn't support voice 'out of the box'.”
You're missing the point really.
By the time 5G arrives the control layer will still be LTE and the 5G will effectively be a massive amount of bandwidth dynamically CAed onto the 4G meaning that the average consumer on a day to day basis has no idea what RAT they're using.
By that time every 4G network in the UK will have VoLTE deployed properly and optimised so that's not an issue.
Yet it's annoying it didn't ship with LTE and it is a bit of a f*** up but at the same time it's not utterly surprising. The switch from circuit switched to packed switched voice was always going to be difficult and torturous (much like some of the earlier posts in this thread). The amount of optimisation and ball ache required for VoLTE means that in general it's been better to wait until an operator has deployed large contiguous amounts of LTE before they activate it. That's why EE said that they'd wait until 90% Pop coverage until VoLTE and why they were about 95% when they actually launched it. Even if it were available from launch there's no guarantee it would have been used.
The issue in my mind with VoLTE isn't the timing it's the availability of configuration for devices due to a lack of a standardised implementation - that is the real f*** up.
Stick "Lilliesleaf" into the EE coverage checker. It has full 4G all around it, but no 3G or 2G.. map mistake? I went there a couple of years ago and the 3G/2G is like it shows, very weak. Is this 800..?
(Looks like there's a mast in the village from the footprint of the coverage?? Must be a mistake?)
(Looks like there's a mast in the village from the footprint of the coverage?? Must be a mistake?)
Originally Posted by lightspeed2398:
“...That's why EE said that they'd wait until 90% Pop coverage until VoLTE and why they were about 95% when they actually launched it. ...”
“...That's why EE said that they'd wait until 90% Pop coverage until VoLTE and why they were about 95% when they actually launched it. ...”
Ah, so with the reports of some failures and issues with their VoLTE lately; one wonders whether they've fallen afoul of the fact that population coverage and geographical coverage aren't identical?
Whose idea was it to make a 4th generation mobile technology with no voice support?! What the F were they thinking? I'd love to know what was going through their mind. And give them a slap. It seems seriously boneheaded. And if even the greatest of industry experts can't figure out how to get VoLTE working properly, I question whether it ever will or if the 800 idea will be shelved until 6G or whatever they design with half a brain.
Networks wanted 4G as quickly as possible, and I doubt anyone thought it was going to take that long to fix.
4G is offering high speed data to a lot of users, many of whom have no idea that they fall back to 2G or 3G to make a call.
4G is offering high speed data to a lot of users, many of whom have no idea that they fall back to 2G or 3G to make a call.
In some markets of course it's not that much of a problem.
If your circuit switched layer is 900MHz you could roll out 1800MHz LTE at full power from the start.
If your circuit switched layer is 900MHz you could roll out 1800MHz LTE at full power from the start.
Originally Posted by blueacid:
“Ah, so with the reports of some failures and issues with their VoLTE lately; one wonders whether they've fallen afoul of the fact that population coverage and geographical coverage aren't identical?”
“Ah, so with the reports of some failures and issues with their VoLTE lately; one wonders whether they've fallen afoul of the fact that population coverage and geographical coverage aren't identical?
”
Haha. VoLTE problems on the scale we've been seeing would have showed as KPI degradation on their systems so they'll be doing something about it. Suspect it's a few isolated cases although I personally have had 2 dropped calls and a few weird moments on VoLTE recently when I've been out and about.
Originally Posted by Cloudane:
“Whose idea was it to make a 4th generation mobile technology with no voice support?! What the F were they thinking? I'd love to know what was going through their mind. And give them a slap. It seems seriously boneheaded. And if even the greatest of industry experts can't figure out how to get VoLTE working properly, I question whether it ever will or if the 800 idea will be shelved until 6G or whatever they design with half a brain.”
“Whose idea was it to make a 4th generation mobile technology with no voice support?! What the F were they thinking? I'd love to know what was going through their mind. And give them a slap. It seems seriously boneheaded. And if even the greatest of industry experts can't figure out how to get VoLTE working properly, I question whether it ever will or if the 800 idea will be shelved until 6G or whatever they design with half a brain.”
The design of VoLTE will carry on for many many years..... it's just an optimisation and coverage question to be honest. 800 when it's launched properly will help further as it's another backup layer to go onto in a lot of places if the 1800 starts messing up.
The Ofcom app I've been running for some time (45 days when I recently Tweeted results) shows a 0% call drop rate, but the developer has admitted that it's not reporting correctly as it can't actually detect a dropped call - rather just losing signal when still on a call.
But clearly EE will know, and be working damn hard to fix. If it's a network problem, or a handset problem.
Not had any dropped calls since I did the Pixel XL update, but that could be purely coincidental. It may well be that EE did something around the same time, or I've just been lucky.
But clearly EE will know, and be working damn hard to fix. If it's a network problem, or a handset problem.
Not had any dropped calls since I did the Pixel XL update, but that could be purely coincidental. It may well be that EE did something around the same time, or I've just been lucky.
Originally Posted by jonmorris:
“The Ofcom app I've been running for some time (45 days when I recently Tweeted results) shows a 0% call drop rate, but the developer has admitted that it's not reporting correctly as it can't actually detect a dropped call - rather just losing signal when still on a call.
But clearly EE will know, and be working damn hard to fix. If it's a network problem, or a handset problem.
Not had any dropped calls since I did the Pixel XL update, but that could be purely coincidental. It may well be that EE did something around the same time, or I've just been lucky.”
“The Ofcom app I've been running for some time (45 days when I recently Tweeted results) shows a 0% call drop rate, but the developer has admitted that it's not reporting correctly as it can't actually detect a dropped call - rather just losing signal when still on a call.
But clearly EE will know, and be working damn hard to fix. If it's a network problem, or a handset problem.
Not had any dropped calls since I did the Pixel XL update, but that could be purely coincidental. It may well be that EE did something around the same time, or I've just been lucky.”
All seems well on my Pixel as well. but again. not sure if this is network related or just the update that has cured this.
I've recently rolled out a number of iPhone 7's and SE's at work and noticed that by default 4G is set to data only and not voice and data. I've been changing them all slowly knowing that this will enable to take advantage of the 800 4G whenever that happens.
I can see it happening already where several of them are together somewhere where there is only 800 4G coverage and only some of them have a signal......
Yes, while iOS users have had access to VoLTE for ages - it is always disabled by default, so I wonder how many people are using it?
I can't turn it off on my phone. I'd have to use the SIM in another phone!
I can't turn it off on my phone. I'd have to use the SIM in another phone!
Originally Posted by InfamousTeal:
“Stick "Lilliesleaf" into the EE coverage checker. It has full 4G all around it, but no 3G or 2G.. map mistake? I went there a couple of years ago and the 3G/2G is like it shows, very weak. Is this 800..?
(Looks like there's a mast in the village from the footprint of the coverage?? Must be a mistake?)”
“Stick "Lilliesleaf" into the EE coverage checker. It has full 4G all around it, but no 3G or 2G.. map mistake? I went there a couple of years ago and the 3G/2G is like it shows, very weak. Is this 800..?
(Looks like there's a mast in the village from the footprint of the coverage?? Must be a mistake?)”
Looks to be a MIP site at West Middles Farm. 1800Mhz 4G as double speed is available. 2G/3G maps don't seem to get updated so go by the No Map summary.
http://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk...nity-1-3812345
Originally Posted by lightspeed2398:
“You're missing the point really.
By the time 5G arrives the control layer will still be LTE and the 5G will effectively be a massive amount of bandwidth dynamically CAed onto the 4G meaning that the average consumer on a day to day basis has no idea what RAT they're using.
By that time every 4G network in the UK will have VoLTE deployed properly and optimised so that's not an issue.
Yet it's annoying it didn't ship with LTE and it is a bit of a f*** up but at the same time it's not utterly surprising. The switch from circuit switched to packed switched voice was always going to be difficult and torturous”
“You're missing the point really.
By the time 5G arrives the control layer will still be LTE and the 5G will effectively be a massive amount of bandwidth dynamically CAed onto the 4G meaning that the average consumer on a day to day basis has no idea what RAT they're using.
By that time every 4G network in the UK will have VoLTE deployed properly and optimised so that's not an issue.
Yet it's annoying it didn't ship with LTE and it is a bit of a f*** up but at the same time it's not utterly surprising. The switch from circuit switched to packed switched voice was always going to be difficult and torturous”
Do you think with the complexities involved we will aways see a certain percentage of call drops until all networks are at a level where phones never need to move from 4g at all?
Originally Posted by lightspeed2398:
“You're missing the point really.
By the time 5G arrives the control layer will still be LTE and the 5G will effectively be a massive amount of bandwidth dynamically CAed onto the 4G meaning that the average consumer on a day to day basis has no idea what RAT they're using.
By that time every 4G network in the UK will have VoLTE deployed properly and optimised so that's not an issue.
Yet it's annoying it didn't ship with LTE and it is a bit of a f*** up but at the same time it's not utterly surprising. The switch from circuit switched to packed switched voice was always going to be difficult and torturous (much like some of the earlier posts in this thread). The amount of optimisation and ball ache required for VoLTE means that in general it's been better to wait until an operator has deployed large contiguous amounts of LTE before they activate it. That's why EE said that they'd wait until 90% Pop coverage until VoLTE and why they were about 95% when they actually launched it. Even if it were available from launch there's no guarantee it would have been used.
The issue in my mind with VoLTE isn't the timing it's the availability of configuration for devices due to a lack of a standardised implementation - that is the real f*** up.”
“You're missing the point really.
By the time 5G arrives the control layer will still be LTE and the 5G will effectively be a massive amount of bandwidth dynamically CAed onto the 4G meaning that the average consumer on a day to day basis has no idea what RAT they're using.
By that time every 4G network in the UK will have VoLTE deployed properly and optimised so that's not an issue.
Yet it's annoying it didn't ship with LTE and it is a bit of a f*** up but at the same time it's not utterly surprising. The switch from circuit switched to packed switched voice was always going to be difficult and torturous (much like some of the earlier posts in this thread). The amount of optimisation and ball ache required for VoLTE means that in general it's been better to wait until an operator has deployed large contiguous amounts of LTE before they activate it. That's why EE said that they'd wait until 90% Pop coverage until VoLTE and why they were about 95% when they actually launched it. Even if it were available from launch there's no guarantee it would have been used.
The issue in my mind with VoLTE isn't the timing it's the availability of configuration for devices due to a lack of a standardised implementation - that is the real f*** up.”
Completely agree with the last point. I wish there was a standard for VoLTE, that I imagine would make device support and everything else a lot lot better than it is right now.
Originally Posted by Cloudane:
“Whose idea was it to make a 4th generation mobile technology with no voice support?! What the F were they thinking? I'd love to know what was going through their mind. And give them a slap. It seems seriously boneheaded. And if even the greatest of industry experts can't figure out how to get VoLTE working properly, I question whether it ever will or if the 800 idea will be shelved until 6G or whatever they design with half a brain.”
“Whose idea was it to make a 4th generation mobile technology with no voice support?! What the F were they thinking? I'd love to know what was going through their mind. And give them a slap. It seems seriously boneheaded. And if even the greatest of industry experts can't figure out how to get VoLTE working properly, I question whether it ever will or if the 800 idea will be shelved until 6G or whatever they design with half a brain.”
VoLTE is working well in other countries like the US, with great device support, and networks like T-Mobile in the US have a similar setup to what EE hopes to achieve; mainly high frequency with a lower frequency VoLTE restricted layer. We just need to give it time.
Originally Posted by jaffboy151:
“Do you think with the complexities involved we will aways see a certain percentage of call drops until all networks are at a level where phones never need to move from 4g at all?”
“Do you think with the complexities involved we will aways see a certain percentage of call drops until all networks are at a level where phones never need to move from 4g at all?”
VoLTE when rolled out well can make blocked and dropped call rates go to near zero levels, so I think once 4G coverage becomes better, and VoLTE is optimised more, these issues will go. Certainly for me VoLTE has been less reliable than 2G/3G so EE clearly still have some work to do, but I'm sure they'll (eventually) get there!
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