Lakeside Shopping Centre - network problems

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

I'm hoping someone at O2 can tell me what they're planning in this area ahead of me making a complaint to O2 directly.

Both my girlfriend and I use iPhones with O2 and bought these on contract. Throughout our visits to Lakeside Shopping Centre in Thurrock we have experienced what must be the most frustrating element of shopping - being unable to track down who you're with due to shoddy mobile phone reception.

I have absolutely no problem with reception dying out in the depths of a shopping centre. They can be quite effect at blocking signal with loads of steel and concrete, but this is something quite different.

In most of the main shopping centre on a busy day you can get 3G signal, but not be able to make a phonecall. Nor can anyone call you.

Sometimes, you'll find you can get an internet connection while you can't make calls. Other times, this is impossible. As it getting a text to your partner despite both having a good signal.

Sometimes, you have no signal. At least this is less misleading. Although - it has to be said - it's the former that is most disconcerting about your infrastructure in what should be high capacity areas.

I've found that friends of mine who have co-incidentally been on the retail park of Lakeside have had the same problems as I have on the Retail Park at the same time.

Why on earth is this a problem? O2 have marketed all these iPhones, Palms and BlackBerrys and now seem overwhelmed by them in high usage areas.

Can someone from O2 please tell me they're aware of the problem in this area and tell me that they're sorting it?

I'm now on a one month rolling contract with O2. All the other operators would appear to be better choices at this time.

[adamtemp64]

These forums are customer to customer the only official input at present is in the broadband section at present.

3g is heavily oversubscribed and o2 have previously admited the issue.

A work around is to turn 3g off and revert to the old 2g network not ideal but may mean in busy areas you can contact each other just turn push and notifications off whilst on 2g

[Anonymous]

That's not quite the full story. The network was congested in some areas. But O2 are investing heavily in extra cell sites to correct this.
This issue is being seen on some other networks as well, (especially Orange) and in the case of Lakeside is more to do with the difficulty of installing extra capacity.
Things like the mast share agreement with Vodafone and the proposed power increases will help improve reception and increase capacity.

[adamtemp64]

Prking

Also the tie up with bt 21cn to provide more core capacity. http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Relea ... 2-266.aspx

Also 3g penetrates buildings less due to the frequencies used on 3g versus o2 core 2g network.

and mast increase info http://mediacentre.o2.co.uk/Press-Relea ... 0-244.aspx

[Anonymous]

The power increase to 98dB is designed to help 3G signals penetrate buildings and so improve coverage.

Its not that networks aren't doing anything about coverage and congestion. Its that its not as simple as some would suggest.

Look at the people who moaned about using their iPhones on O2 and moved to Orange/Vodafone (on the basis that their coverage maps showed more of the country covered) only to find that they have the same problem. (If you search Orange Network Norfolk - you will find some very angry people).

[Anonymous]

Also 3g penetrates buildings less due to the frequencies used on 3g versus o2 core 2g network.

While this is somewhat true, it's down to the GSM technology in use rather than the physical properties of 900MHz vs. 1800MHz that's the problem. Cells automatically reduce in size when they start to get full, as many of us on O2 will know!!

Thanks for all the feedback, but we shouldn't let O2 get off lightly on this with silly excuses like "3G doesn't get into buildings so well". It's a rubbish excuse to defend the fact they haven't built up their network despite raking in the cash.

For what it's worth, turning off 3G doesn't always work either. 2G cells in places like Lakeside also get full up, unsurprisingly...

[Anonymous]

You're wrong. You are confusing Cell Breathing (where the cell grows and shrinks with the number of users) and the fact that as frequency increases the signal becomes less 'penetrating'. Its not a silly excuse at all.

[adamtemp64]

My background is as a Radio Amateur and can tell you that the shorter the radio wave length the less it penetrates a building. A shorter wave length the higher the frequency.

An analogy is you can get an Medium wave radio signal in most buildings with its built in antenna wherever you are but to get a good tv picture you need an external antenna.

So a 900mhz signal on o2 has a longer wave length than the 2.1ghz utms (3g) Signal
so a 900mhz signal has a wave length of 33.31 cm and 2.1 ghz 14.276 cm