topic Re: Good 4G coverage in Discussions & Feedback

Good 4G coverage

darrengf — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 11:30:23 GMT

I just wanted to give some positive feedback on the Improvements of the 4G network from o2.

Couple of weeks a go I was on a coach trip to the EU. But this is more to say hoe much O2 4G footprint has improved while traveling in U.K.

From South Yorkshire all the way to Dover I was able to stream an watch online TV to where it glitches out on 5 occasions only.

on the return It glitches out on 3 occasions only.

1 of the glitches both way was round the M25 Dartford crossing, sheer volume of people and the Dartford Tunnel it self.

2 was going into Leicester where it must have picked up a old 3G mast and then it wouldn't let go back to 4G

3 was in and out of Mansfield, still not the best there yet. But has improved.

the other odd occasions were on M1 going towards M25, just the odd area where Masts havnt been upgraded or just very poor coverage.

but on the whole I've seen a massive improvement of the 4G coverage.

see if it's improved when I go again next year on coach.

ive seen coverage come on in leaps and bounds as well where I live, there are still some black spots where there is limited to no coverage, so just have to wait for them areas if they will improve, but overall it's a huge improvement and now very rare I see o2 gprs or edge or even 3G to come to it.

Re: Good 4G coverage

pgn — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 11:45:06 GMT

Good point, @darrengf:

O2's 4G coverage near my work has been super for at least a year if not more, much better than having to latch onto the WiFi signal where I work. Download speed is typically around 6Mbps, with upload speeds exceeding 15Mbps - not bad for a densely-populated urban area.

At home, which is more rural,whilst 4G is good when I can get the signal, the positions of the 2 masts covering this postcode mean we get different coverage in different parts of the house - but the upload and download speeds on O2 4G, when the phone latches onto it, are impressive - 18Mbps down and 7Mbps up.

Re: Good 4G coverage

darrengf — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 12:17:22 GMT

Yes I've noticed 4G more and more now. I know which masts in my area are still no upgraded and only pumping out 2G but I can tell you that thee inline to be updated in next few months. Another Vodafone mast has just come over to o2 as well which for an area with little o2 is massive improvement.

Last night there was one street on the coverage map app that was all red due to poor speeds and coverage. Now when I drove through it. I started the app testing and 1 hour later the whole street is green with 4G.

This is something I think o2 have really done great.

Some areas still to do and I no there is always going to be black spots. There is on all networks. But it's getting there.

I've also noticed where I live the other day I had no 4G but in the network o2 map it said they were upgrading 4g in my area.
It came back the next day and they went and added o2 3G 1800. Speeds now went from 40Mbps to 70-80Mbps.

So o2 are now not only adding 4G but improving it too.

Speed is one thing but having a constant 4G connection that works is another and if everything works then I prefer a constant 4ag coverage all the time.

Some people may be different.

But I think it's a great what has been achieved.

Also while I'm typing this I'm in the countryside and normal it's an area of Blackwood where I loose signal and no 3 or 4g.

Today since the last was updated I've had constant 2-3 bars of 4G. So that's another area done. 👍😀

Less red for poor and more green for good.

Well done o2. Keep it up.

Re: Good 4G coverage

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 16:17:05 GMT

4g in north wales is getting better

Re: Good 4G coverage

Martin-O2 — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 13:03:19 GMT

@darrengf @Anonymous @pgn Thanks for taking the time to feedback about the improved 4G coverage. O2 have been putting a lot of effort into increasing and improving the 4G coverage so it's great to hear those efforts are having a noticeable effect I'll pass on these comments!

Re: Good 4G coverage

jonsie — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 13:13:02 GMT

A couple of weeks ago but makes interesting reading. O2 are lagging behind despite their claim of spending £2M per day upgrading their network.

I saw this on the BBC and thought you should see it:

UK mobile coverage winners revealed in study - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40738947

Re: Good 4G coverage

MercedesS — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 14:52:27 GMT

Thank you guys for all the amazing feedback, time and effort that you bring into the community

Re: Good 4G coverage

pgn — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 18:22:04 GMT

Interesting article, @jonsie - good spot!

Re: Good 4G coverage

darrengf — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 21:45:01 GMT

Yes I also saw that article too.

i normally carry o2 as my main and then Vodafone and EE with me too as back up.

but on this occasions going all the way to Dover O2 performed pretty much with out issues. Vodafone had very similar coverage every step of the way Dartford a tunnel was the only difference noticed.

going over the water to Calais. Both Vodafone and O2 kept the same single strength and changed to 3G and then to 2G with in seconds of each other.

EE I have to say was very good, I can't lie on that one, however it also did fail but only on 2 occasions and you could see it went to a old 3G mast with limited backhaull, but it didn't stay on for long.

o2 did however impress me very much and like I said only Dartford M25 is where I struggled and needed a capacity enhancement big time. Vodafone and EE did work fine though.

O2 in the dartford tunnel was only 2G. Vodafone however was 3G and worked ok. Didn't check EE I'm afraid.

There are are still areas for improvement though, but it was nicer to see 4G loads more than the good old 2G and 3G.

Re: Good 4G coverage

Martin-O2 — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 08:40:16 GMT

Thanks @darrengf Not sure if it's possible but I'll see if I can find out if there are any upgrades scheduled in the Dartford area soon

Re: Good 4G coverage

darrengf — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 19:25:19 GMT

Thanks @Martin-O2

@I don't live there, but it's always nice to know if there are any improvements.

i was in Birmingham other week round Bull ring and Birmingham new street station.

Great 4G signal, just didn't work at all, other networks did work but they did struggle, Vodafone was the best but that also had issues but it was more constant.

O2 3G did work ish, but very slow, soon as I left the station and bull ring, o2 phone worked ok for data.

its so busy there it's unreal, but you can see it was that congested it couldn't cope. Possible a area for you to check on.

Derby Train station too, very limited coverage at all on O2 all together. It's a busy place but no mast near by which is strange for a major train station. Against something to check on for us.

thanks

Re: Good 4G coverage

Martin-O2 — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 09:07:27 GMT

No worries @darrengf I've asked if there are any schedules or info about improvements I can share so I'll let you know once I hear back.

I get a similar thing at Euston Station. My phone shows 4G but the connection itself struggles to load pages etc. I think you're right, it's down to the massive volumes of people using the networks in such a small space.