4G speeds

[Rongtw]

Hi all

Hopefully someone here can give me a answer , on my LG K520 4G has been getting worse on the O2 my network app it shows my Downlad speeds as 5.02 mbps and my upload as 17.6 ?

this is normal not just a one off

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

It's just congestion.
Until O2 add more capacity, it will not change.

[jonsie]

It's definitely not a phone problem. As said, speeds will vary depending on time of day and the number of people connected to a particular mast. Try a speed test in a different area.  

[Rongtw]

well the problem will not go away 😞 even after reporting the problem several time to O2 , they just keep saying  no known issues in my area 😞

even tried test several areas close to my house .

but now i see this , i am in the 29%  so its not unusual

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2017/11/study-claims-29-uk-mobile-users-suffer-poor-no-indoor-...

[Skyhawk1010]

Always disappointing to read of issues regarding coverage and capacity. 

O2 are keen to get these occasional issues resolved. Customers without the ability to use their phone and services in a reasonable manner are disgruntled and for good reason. And theres always an impact when these issues crop up.

The biggest issue isn’t so much lack of finances/not wanting to build new masts etc but the actual bandwidth O2 has been allocated for 4G . Even Three now have more (bagged a 20mHz chunk of 1500mHz a while back which is now coming on stream) . So O2 have had to use what they do have more creatively than others. A legacy 2G 1800mHz network O2 built back as BT Cellnet (remember them?) used to increase capacity in some city centres (Leeds, Manchester, Slough, Wolverhampton, London, Birmingham that I can remember) has been switched over to 4G. And theres chunks of the older 3G 2100mHz are being reallocated to 4G. This has lit up Leicester improving matters considerably.

Sadly to take real advantage, you need a modern high spec handset such as the Xperia XZ Premium supplied by O2 which has a function called MIMO (Multiple In Multiple Out) and can take advantage of several 4G frequencies at once. Admittedly this is still being rolled out but it will help considerably where areas of (especially) urban congestion exists.

So unless you’re able to upgrade/acquire a O2 firmware equipped MIMO compatible handset, I can’t really see a big change anytime soon. 

[Rongtw]

Bt Cellnet ,, Yes i have been with o2 when it was BT Cellnet , and have used your network since then .

But to say the only way to improve my coverage is to buy a new handset  unbelievable

[MI5]

No, the only way to improve your 4g experience is to move to EE.

[jonsie]

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@MI5 wrote:
No, the only way to improve your 4g experience is to move to EE.

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That sums it up nicely and the difference for me is quite staggering. 

[TopperGas]

EE/BT seem to have a monopoly on 4G bandwidths, the option is to get an MiFi router and use an EE data sim from eBay, if you'd sooner stick with the underdog, O2!

[Skyhawk1010]

What are you expecting?

Yes, as I've said any customer not happy/unable to reasonably use their handsets due to coverage is always a pain. Its happened to me in the past and it goes for ALL networks..not just O2.

My suggestion is accurate and given in good faith. I don't work for O2 neither do I approve/not approve of their plaiing proposals up and down the country. 

Correcting a given coverage issue and/or increasing capacity isn't just a matter of erecting a mast. turning it on and away you go. It is a multi disciplined, multi team effort requiring cooperation between (several ) O2 departments, the landowner of any potential site and the local authority.

And you would be SHOCKED at the hassle a local authority can cause. 

i'm originally from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and O2 have good coverage in some parts but poor coverage in othersThere was a notorious blackspot in the Penn area  (ALL networks have bother out there due to the NIMBY factor) and O2 had proposed a monopole mast on a street junction of Springhill Lane/ Penn Rd. part of the A449 .And the hoo-ha was incredible. You'd have thought a nerve gas plant was being built. O2 eventually got the all clear and the site is currently operational. 

So thats the score. You might find another network gives better coverage in areas you live in and travel to. But also remember that coverage and capacity are very fluid factors. What is rubbish can suddenly change for the better. But as both Three and EE customers have found out, it can also go the opposite way.