topic Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ? in Android

Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:58:43 GMT

I have loyally stayed with O2 since they were BT Cellnet (they have been good with retention incentives).

However one very important aspect of their services which has demonstrated no significant improvement in my opinion is network coverage.

Signal strength is consistently less than rivals (e.g. EE), and not uncommonly absent altogether.

I live on the edge of a medium size city, and I frequently have to go out in the back garden to make or receive mobile calls. And as for 3G forget it.

I actually wrote a letter to the customer service dept, who replied with some rather bland non-specific statement about always trying to improve the coverage.

My current contract ends early next year and I will certainly be looking very closely at EE - my GFs phone is with EE and has a constant good signal strength.

It's pretty poor that in 10 years I've seen very little change from O2 in this vital service requirement.

swayzak

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Bambino — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:02:50 GMT

Depending on which phone you have, if you can download the Tu Go app and it works for you, it should help with your coverage indoors for making and receiving calls over WiFi. The app is still not perfect, but it does work for some.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:30:40 GMT

Thanks for the tip - but it doesn't really answer my question.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:46:19 GMT

You are right. The last couple of years have seen me travelling around the UK. I have O2 and EE, O2 being my main phone. The times I have had to use EE in order to get a good 3G signal are too many to count.

Tu Go has solved my problems at home, but that does not answer why there are no usable O2 masts near to me when everyone else has (O2 claim good signal but it is poor both indoors)

I think I is all down to lack of investment (I know what they claim) but the results speak for themselves.

The franchising of more stores and the sale of their Broadband and Fix lines to Sky makes me think this is a company scratching round for cash.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Pickles — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:52:49 GMT

Yes I would like to see more signal coverage everywhere. Mainly because I have no signal at my house. But TuGo is working well for me at home, but would be nice to see better coverage.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:37:35 GMT

I definitely think they have not invested sufficiently in this area, which is why I shall probably leave them next year.

It's just not good enough - they should get the basics right first, and they've certainly had long enough.

I wish they'd just be honest and say "yep, our coverage is poor & we haven't invested enough to improve it".

I naively thought that, having presumably inherited infrastructure from BT, they would be well positioned to offer competitive coverage compared to rivals.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:42:45 GMT

O2 are the only network who have bought their 4G spectrum on the condition that they provide a definite indoor coverage for a percentage of the population.

In 2015 O2 will provide indoor 2G, 3G and 4G coverage to 98% of the population.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 13:59:51 GMT

That's asking me stick with them for another year beyond contract expiration, on a promise.

So it's taken this to "force" them to do something they should have done for existing customers years ago.

Still poor in my view.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

perksie — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:11:37 GMT

Not a question of forcing them to do it, they are still spending over a £1M a day on network improvements and have been for several years.

It was the decision of O2 to choose the band that means they have to increase their coverage to that level.

2015 is the target date for completion so you could get a better signal well before then.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:17:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
O2 are the only network who have bought their 4G spectrum on the condition that they provide a definite indoor coverage for a percentage of the population.

In 2015 O2 will provide indoor 2G, 3G and 4G coverage to 98% of the population.

O2 Failed miserably to reach the target set by OFCOM for 3G - I reserve judgement on 4G

I've constantly heard the 'we will do this by (enter date of choice) mantra, but it has not happened. I'm supposed to have good coverage on 3G at 2100 and 900. My phone is by me now showing 2G only

You can see I have been with O2 for years but come November, probably not any more as I have to go with the best network for my use.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

jonsie — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:14:56 GMT

Coverage in my area is fairly poor and has always been so in the 15 years at my present address. I have never lost signal but it has never been better than 2 bars. Being 1 mile outside a big town in a big village, I too feel this isn't really good enough.

On the plus side, TuGo is working well for me. If it wasn't for this and that my tariff is perfect for me I might well have gone for EE which has excellent signal in the area.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:27:10 GMT

£1M a day !?

LOL - they (or I) should ask for a refund.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

jonsie — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:38:00 GMT

Seems £1M doesn't go far these days!:smileywink:

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:18:34 GMT

Ah to be fair its not, in fact it recieves several awards for being the best network, unfortunately its not in your area. My recommendation is that if it doesnt work in your area dont use it. you wouldnt keep a car that struggles to start in the morning for ten years.

if you check a variety of forums with other suppliers they are asking exactly the same thing about THEIR networks.

We would all like coverage every where we go but unfortunately it cant happen. Bandwith, lay of the land, technology, planning permission and money can all play a part.

3G was never designed to cover the entire UK the fact of the matter is usage and development of smartphones took all network by surprise. EE and 3 have generally considered better NWs as EE originates from Tmob and Orange and 3 only ever had a 3G NW to use so needed to expand, which is why rurally in some places its the only company to offer 3G

Which leads us to 4G is designed to give you the better coverage than 2G and better data speeds of 3G. Again its true O2 does have the better bandwith for coverage but we can only hope that ALL networks can roll this out effectively and at a reasonable cost.

Lets wait and see!

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:46:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Ah to be fair its not, in fact it recieves several awards for being the best network, unfortunately its not in your area. My recommendation is that if it doesnt work in your area dont use it. you wouldnt keep a car that struggles to start in the morning for ten years.

if you check a variety of forums with other suppliers they are asking exactly the same thing about THEIR networks.

We would all like coverage every where we go but unfortunately it cant happen. Bandwith, lay of the land, technology, planning permission and money can all play a part.

3G was never designed to cover the entire UK the fact of the matter is usage and development of smartphones took all network by surprise. EE and 3 have generally considered better NWs as EE originates from Tmob and Orange and 3 only ever had a 3G NW to use so needed to expand, which is why rurally in some places its the only company to offer 3G

Which leads us to 4G is designed to give you the better coverage than 2G and better data speeds of 3G. Again its true O2 does have the better bandwith for coverage but we can only hope that ALL networks can roll this out effectively and at a reasonable cost.

Lets wait and see!

Its not just poor in my area - it is in many areas I visit. At a rough guess EE gives me 3G in over 90% of the places I visit, O2 around 60% And these places are areas of population throughout the UK

Agreed that 3G was not to cover everywhere but overall their coverage is not as widespread

as some other networks and their roll out was slower than all the others.

I shall be at a location shortly where all the other networks have good 3G and O2 has no coverage at all not even 2G - and it is not an isolated spot in the wilderness.

I am fully aware of what is required to build a network and the difficulties involved, as I've been following mobile comms for over 20 years but O2 seem more than tardy in thier offering.

We shall see on 4G, but the lack of any of the 2.6GHZ spectum means they are going to be hard pushed to get maximum speed benefits in built up locations.

Of course, a lot will depend on Telefoncia, and my Spanish friends tell me that they a struggling. I can see O2 changing hands in the future.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

MI5 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:05:58 GMT

Point well made redviking83. I travel around alot and find that O2 gives me the best signal overall. I also carry an EE phone with me (company phone) and find I have better O2 coverage in the areas I travel to. O2 is also the only signal I can get at home, so it all goes to show that no one single network will satisfy everyone, all the time and it depends greatly on where you are. Research and PAYG SIMs should be utilised to decide on your own individual best network choice before entering into any contracts.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:09:26 GMT

Does anybody else think that choice of handset also plays a part in quality of signal? i work in an office in Birmingham City Centre (unlucky I know!).

My HTC One X rarely picks up 3G signal in the office, but my colleague (who is also on O2), has an Iphone 5, and has permanent 3G signal. Our phones literally sit inches from each other. I love my HOX, but get frustrated at the smug looks from across the desk when I complain about my lack of 3G!

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

MI5 — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:14:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Does anybody else think that choice of handset also plays a part in quality of signal? i work in an office in Birmingham City Centre (unlucky I know!).

Different modems will give different RxLev, also the antenna design and position can influence signal, however, in a city centre I would expect even the poorest of receivers to get a good 3G signal unless there was a fault.

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:23:11 GMT

Now that my sim card issue is solved (see my other recent post "Signal Loss on HTC One X") I always have a signal, it's just rarely 3G. The problem is, how do I know if the 3G reception is crap on all HOX's or just on mine (I.e. it is faulty)? Don't wanna be without it for weeks by sending it for repair, just to be told that their is nothing wrong with it!

Also, how do I 'quote' people in responses, like you have quoted my post and responded to it in this thread?

Re: Why is O2 network coverage so poor compared to other providers ?

MI5 — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:28:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, how do I 'quote' people in responses, like you have quoted my post and responded to it in this thread?

Press "Reply" then "Quote" from the next page. Youo would have to do a back to back with another HOX..... Maybe pop into CPW or an O2 store and try your SIM in a demo phone.....?