4G Virtual Interview- 03/10/13

[Anonymous]

Hey Guys.

We know how excited you are by 4G, so we want to give you all the chance to ask our experts questions in the form of our Virtual Interview!

We've got Sarah Craig and Alistair Baird from our 4G delivery team who'll be here on the 3^rd  of October answering your questions, say hello to them! They’re really looking forward to getting you the latest and greatest information on O2 4G

As you know we’re bringing 13 cities 4G by the end of the year so we really want to know what questions you have, this will help us make sure we're doing all we can to get it right.

If you’re new to the community and want to get involved in this Virtual Interview check out our guide on what to do to ask a question, remember you need to be logged in to ask us. The guide on how to register/login to the community can be found here

To get your question answered by the team, simply reply to this thread below.

The Virtual interview will be at 12:30pm till 1:30pm on the 3rd of October, to take part just ask your question on this thread, if we don’t answer you in the hour we’ll make sure your question gets answered!

Ask away guys, look forward to seeing all of your questions!

Thanks

Brad

[Anonymous]

Hi there,
There are lots of great reasons to stay with O2 including Priority and TU Go. We have really rapid rollout plans for our 4G network where we are the only network to commit to 98% coverage. How much data are you using that you feel that you need an unlimited tariff?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I live in Nottingham which has just had 4g turned on but where i live (which is close to a o2 mast) is only showing as 1 bar on the o2 4g network coverage. I am very disappointed that after all the hype i cannot get a 4g signal unless i move closer into the city centre 3g is fine though, occasionally drops to GPRS when inside making calls. 4g hasn't lived upto my expectations at the moment so i don't think it warrants paying extra for a service you cannot use?!. Not a very happy o2 customer at the moment!.

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Hi Paulafc78

that's really disappointing. It will take time for 4G coverage to be rolled out completely and we are switching on new sites all the time.

Please PM Toby with your details so that we can investigate further.

[Anonymous]

Hi ElDzsi, On average our speeds are going to be 5x faster than our curent 3G network which we believe offers a brilliant experience for what customers want to do whilst on the move. Why not try it on O2, and check out our 90 day happiness guarantee.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Will the 4G service use image compression? I would like to see O2 remove it entirely similar to Three, EE and other networks.

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Hi Reece

yes, we will continue to use Optimisation on our 4G network. It makes sure we deliver the most consistent customer experience across all users.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the question ElDzsi,
O2 refresh is only available in our direct channels, which means you can change your phone as often as phones change. Additionally if you decide not to change your phone your bills will automtically reduce at the end of the 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Hi generallee94,
We launched Birmingham last week, but will be continuing to infill with further coverage by the end of the year. You therefore may see a specific site that isn't live yet, but we will continue to rollout in new and existing launch areas to improve the 4G/3G and 2G experience.

[Anonymous]

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@adamtemp64 wrote:
A serious question as other networks have already rolled out 3g to my rural location how will o2 try to retain business customers in rural o2 3g not spots? As a business we need a fall back solution and the o2 4g pop up office would work well but as we do not even get 3g will o2 give a bit of priority to the rural roll out as business customers could connect many handsets and other devices to the much touted improved coverage that 800mhz band 20 gives. I appreciate that o2 for commercially sensitive reasons will not inform users in advance yet look at bt openreach fiber rollout they at least give a timeframe for areas etc (subject to change). Now that there is no monopoly for 4g if o2 were open in communicating there committed end of 2015 implementation rather than the 2017 ofcom obligation o2 could potentially gain customers in ares that will go live ahead of other networks. Just like at the moment o2 have the only live status page that I know of on all networks.

I appreciate this may well not be answered in the live session but It will help us decide our business contact choices down the line. (I have had to get a 3 payg dongle to use as an adsl backup as we have overhead cables).

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Hi Adam

really good point. As you know, radio rollout depends on lots of variables. Things like planning permissions, site access, availability of transmission, integration etc. This is why radio forecasting is difficult. We are looking at ways to provide a forward view without over promising.

[Anonymous]

Hi DonDino,
Glad to hear your enjoying the 3G experience, in terms of your question on a connection its correct that the network will provide a seemless connection as you move between 4G and 3G coverage areas and handover between sites if your on the move.

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

Thanks for your posts, really interesting to hear what questions you have as a community. Happy to hear your thoughts on your 4G experiences and whether you’re looking forward to new technologies like VOLTE and how you think this could be used.:smileyhappy:

[Anonymous]

Time’s up for now, really enjoyed it! Some great questions – wouldn’t have expected any less. Let’s keep the conversation going so post any follow up on the Community and I will be watching out.

Lots of feedback for me to take back to the team, we’ll keep you posted as we have updates.

It would be great to hear your best 4G experiences so far. Mine involves Selfridges shoe department!!

Bye for now