18 Years of 2G (GSM 900) and still no decent 2G service in my town.

[Anonymous]

I am extremely unhappy.

O2 can't seem to get their act together with Wigton - a market town of over 5000 people.

There is NO reception on the MAIN HIGH STREET because we have 1 mast in the wrong part of town to be of any use.

And what makes my blood boil is that I was told by an absolute liar of an O2 employee, spent half an hour telling me how O2 had made a planning application for a new mast in  Wigton and that the local council was the hold up.

I listened to endless mistruths about how there would be a second mast in Wigton, with smaller masts running off it.

On the back of those lies, I took out an additional contract to run as an early replacement for another contract which runs out in a few months time - an effective renewal.

To later learn that O2 hasn't made any planning application and that I've fed mistruths, well that just sends me mad.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of O2 endlessly getting my hopes up, then to find out later I've been fed mistruths.

What about the TuGo debarcile. Every other O2 agent on the phone thinks the service has been launched when it hasn't. One month, we get a date, for us to be told the next month it's been delayed.

Then there is the boost boxes that are only available to business users with a number of phones on their contracts.

Is it right that 18 years after the launch of GSM, I can't get a signal, O2 can't provide a date for an end to it all, can't sell booster boxes to improve the signal, can't seem to get their act together about TuGo, but have all the time in the world to talk about how they are going to set the world alight with their mythical 4G service?

Look, if you can't get 2G right after 18 years, my grandchildren will be drawing their pensions by the time you get Wigton on 4G!

[Anonymous]

Hello Chris

I appreciate that you are frustrated about the situation you have described. To clarify I do work for O2, but what I post on here is nothing more than my own opinion. That is, this is not an official O2 response to your post.

Some other posters have given you advice in so much that if you're really unhappy there is a complaint service for O2 where you can make your feelings known.

I do get your frustration, but it's not a great idea to take that out on the other posters. I think that is alienating yourself from them.

I'll try to talk about each of your points in turn:

No reception on the main high street of Wigton. I've checked O2's status checker. If I'm right, you're talking about Wigton, Cumbria, CA7, yes? If so then the nearest mast to the main high street is just off the B5305 (Lowmoor Road) which although not exactly right on top of the high street, should be reasonably close enough to give some sort of signal there.

As far as I am aware, the focus on 4G also includes upgrading each mast. They will need upgrades to handle 4G, and part of this means placing 3G equipment in the masts too. Therefore the signal quality is likely to get better. Timescale? No idea, but if Wigton houses 5000 people, not all of whom are likely to be O2 customers, its not likely to be soon. Priority will be given to larger areas of the country (as you'd expect any business to do - cater to where they get most of their custom from).

Your O2 contract will tell you that you are not promised to have 100% signal in 100% of the country. And I'm guessing signal strength in the area won't be that great between the other networks.

This brings us to TuGo. It is coming and is likely to be released this month. There are a few last bugs that are currently being ironed out. However, unless you have a portable wifi kit TuGo isn't likely to be useful for you wandering about the local high street, its an app that works over wifi with the intention of being able to make calls at home when you don't have great signal.

Your comment about booster boxes - ditto they work in the same way, so unless you have portable wifi kit and a booster box in your pocket, this solution is also not likely to help you while you wander around the high street.

Which brings us to your options. As far as I can see your options are limited to:

1) putting up with it
2) doing something about it (complaining to O2)
3) leaving O2 in search of better signal with another network.

The choice, as always, is entirely yours.

[Anonymous]

You put up with it for 18 years & only now you complain? Try some different network pay & go sims to see which network is best suited to you

[Anonymous]

"I do get your frustration, but it's not a great idea to take that out on the other posters. I think that is alienating yourself from them."

Someone else made a similar comment and I'll tell you exactly the same thing. If you can find any statement or comment that I have made, simply quote me on it, pointing out how I've been unreasonable. I haven't taken anything out on anyone else that's posting here - I've been abusive to anyon - If you feeel that I have, simply quote the offending paragraphs.

"No reception on the main high street of Wigton. I've checked O2's status checker. If I'm right, you're talking about Wigton, Cumbria, CA7, yes? If so then the nearest mast to the main high street is just off the B5305 (Lowmoor Road) which although not exactly right on top of the high street, should be reasonably close enough to give some sort of signal there."

I live to the South of the mast and the signal in my home is excellent. There is a street called "High Street" - which leads into town, there are shops along it, but it's not the main street in town - the main street is really "King Street". There are more shops on it than "High Street"

20 to 30 yards of the top of High Street, into King Street, there is no mobile phone signal. All down King Street, there is no phone signal. There is also no phone signal to the North of King Street and on West Road, there is no signal for 30 yards, followed by signal for about half a mile, where it is finally too weak.

"As far as I am aware, the focus on 4G also includes upgrading each mast. They will need upgrades to handle 4G, and part of this means placing 3G equipment in the masts too. Therefore the signal quality is likely to get better. Timescale? No idea, but if Wigton houses 5000 people, not all of whom are likely to be O2 customers, its not likely to be soon. Priority will be given to larger areas of the country (as you'd expect any business to do - cater to where they get most of their custom from)."

Shocking. Telling and very dissapointing. You just don't get it do you?

What about the people that visit Wigton, that come here to do business?

You cannot write off a poplulation centre such as a town.

What's the point in putting up a mast in a town, if it doesn't cover the main trading area of the town?

Could you imagine how laughable it would be if I said "Welcome to Banana mobile - we're going to cover London, but we can't be bothered with the square mile in the city...now now now...don't complain, we know people do business there, but we've got the other 606 square miles covered!"

The other networks do have Wigton covered.

It's no use telling people to change networks, they shouldn't have to.

Your point about O2 catering for larger population bases only goes so far.

I expect O2 to roll out 3G in London and Manchester first - and they most probably did.

I expect O2 to roll out 4G in London and Manchester first and they will - no complaints from me there.

HOWEVER. From the time of it's inception in 1994 to 2013, which is 19 years later, I expect O2 to have a 2G network in Wigton that works and covers the main trading area of the town.

And to be honest, I would also expect to see a functioning 3G service within 5 years of it being rolled out.

Not to have decent 3G in what is a town - is one thing.

No 2G? That makes O2 a laughing stock. A joke.

[perksie]

You seem to want to continue this argument to the point where you will be seen as a joke.

There are thousands of towns in the UK that don't have the kind of coverage you are calling for, what makes your town so special?

You have good coverage at home and now you are measuring up sections of road where the signal fails, ridiculous.

Mobile phone signals carry by wireless not magic and there will always be blank spots.

O2 don't get any option where their aerials are installed as you should know.

If O2 are such an inferior company why not move elsewhere, or can't you get your ideal service from another supplier?

[Anonymous]

I have to say I commented on this post last night and found your language disgusting added to that your inability to see the obvious marks you as a lost cause. 

There are so many discrepancies in you complaint it is unreal. Wigton rang a bell with me so I googled it and it reminded me of the sky news reports I had read/watched.

'In 2004 the town was the first settlement in the United Kingdom to enforce a curfew on teenagers under the age of 16. It was in place for two weeks, and its aim was to reduce the amount of vandalism in the town centre. It followed nightly vandalism campaigns, which included smashed shop fronts, as well as intimidation of elderly members of the community'

And you wonder why O2 do not invest more in a tiny unimportant town that they have probably no more that a few hundred customers in?

[Anonymous]

You seem to want to continue this argument to the point where you will be seen as a joke.

I think you simply don't like the home truths about O2 that I'm posting. I find it ironic that people have been telling me that I've been laying into other posters, yet can't seem to post any evidence of such, yet I have someone who's getting their teeth into me, just because they don't like my opinion of O2.

"There are thousands of towns in the UK that don't have the kind of coverage you are calling for, what makes your town so special?"

And hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people live in those towns.

If what you are saying is true - that there are thousands of towns with no network coverage in their centres, then how on Earth can you believe that upgrades to internet speeds via future technologies such as 4G as a priority?

Surely there is not enough physical infrastructure out there, if what you are saying is correct?

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

You seem to want to continue this argument to the point where you will be seen as a joke.

I think you simply don't like the home truths about O2 that I'm posting. I find it ironic that people have been telling me that I've been laying into other posters, yet can't seem to post any evidence of such, yet I have someone who's getting their teeth into me, just because they don't like my opinion of O2.

"There are thousands of towns in the UK that don't have the kind of coverage you are calling for, what makes your town so special?"

And hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people live in those towns.

If what you are saying is true - that there are thousands of towns with no network coverage in their centres, then how on Earth can you believe that upgrades to internet speeds via future technologies such as 4G as a priority?

Surely there is not enough physical infrastructure out there, if what you are saying is correct?

---

Hence the reason O2 have joined up With vodafone to make sure there will be coverage of 98%.

[perksie]

I live in a village of less than 4000 with a poor 3G signal and my nearest mast is over a mile away.

You have a good signal at home and I don't so why should your town get any preference over mine or anyone else's?

If you read the terms you agreed to you will see that a full coverage is not guaranteed and the signal you get may be variable, if you choose to have a mobile phone it's a choice you make.

I'm out of this now as you didn't understand what I said before and doubt you ever will.

I wish you luck with the perfect world you would prefer to live in.

It isn't going to happen.

I'm not defending O2 either as all the networks have the same issues.

[Anonymous]

"I have to say I commented on this post last night and found your language disgusting added to that your inability to see the obvious marks you as a lost cause."

Quote the comment where the language was "disgusting" and say why you found it disgusting. I don't think you'll be able to, because there isn't any language I have used that is disgusting.

It is obvious to me, that you are just over protective of O2.

I have made a reasonable point, that after 19 years of GSM, a town of 5000 people, should be able to make and receive calls from the town centre, where all the trading and shopping goes along.

"There are so many discrepancies in you complaint it is unreal."

Then point them out. Easy! Quote me, tell me what I have missed!

"In 2004 the town was the first settlement in the United Kingdom to enforce a curfew on teenagers under the age of 16. It was in place for two weeks, and its aim was to reduce the amount of vandalism in the town centre. It followed nightly vandalism campaigns, which included smashed shop fronts, as well as intimidation of elderly members of the community'

And you wonder why O2 do not invest more in a tiny unimportant town that they have probably no more that a few hundred customers in?"

And the curfew worked, Wigton took a stand and it did not tolerate such behavior and there is no problem here. Wigton sorted itself out and I don't feel intimidated outside the local Spare at 10:30 PM - good job really, because I doubt that I would be able to call for help using my O2 handset.

Your logic here fails twice.

1. There ARE NO 4G customers anywhere. If there is no 4G customers in London, why build a 4G infrastructure in London? There is more O2 2G customers in Wigton, than 4G O2 customers in London. So you fail on your logic. You can't say "There's not many 2G customers in Wigton with 2G phones, so we won't bother improving 2G services....however there is no 4G customers anywhere, so lets build some 4G stuff somewhere..."

2. Always a bit silly to us crime as an argument. There's plenty of vandalsim and crime in London, Birmingham and Manchester. They should of course, have good communications, even though they are more crime ridden than Wigton.

[Anonymous]

"I live in a village of less than 4000 with a poor 3G signal and my nearest mast is over a mile away.

You have a good signal at home and I don't so why should your town get any preference over mine or anyone else's?"

I don't expect my town to have priority over anyone elses. What I believe is that every town, in it's trading area, in it's centre should have a signal as high priority.

Whether people get a good signal at home or not, is less important and will become less important with boostboxes and services like tugo. Oh sorry, I forget, normal customers have no chance of laying their hands on either of those services! 

But seriouslly. People pop out of their homes to go into town. Their other halves, their children will want to ring them, they will want to ring home.

It's important that every town has coverage in it's town centre.

Please. Read my posts. I have no probem with 4G and 3G being rolled out.

But my honest opinion, is that after almost 20 years of 2G, every town, on every network, customers should be able to make calls in the centre of town.