O2 3G coverage - Page 2

Anonymous · ‎04-08-2008

For the past 5 years i've been on Orange and always been very happy with the 3G signal i've had - i live in Stafford and work in Telford and never really had anything less then full 3G coverage in these areas. I moved to O2 because of the iphone but O2's 3G coverage appears to be really way behind that of other networks - Stafford has NO 3G coverage at all ! Even their "future o2 coverage" map shows no plans for stafford. Telford does have coverage but minimal. Why are O2 so far behind ? To say it's disappointing would be an understatement. I dont really understand why apple would agree to market the iphone with a mobile network who has the worst 3G coverage out of all of them.

Anonymous · ‎28-08-2008

Come on guys, don't you know tha; "We're better, connected"

I love the placing of the comma; they clearly know they are not "better connected" but rather we are all better when we are connected to one another in some way.

Anonymous · ‎01-11-2008

Completely agree. All the other networks have 3G coverage where I live, and yet when I buy the iPhone 3G, not only can I not get 3G where I live, I can't get EDGE either. Precisely the same situation I had with my original iPhone. Get your act together O2, or I'll seriously be hoping Ofcom do take that licence off you. :robotmad:

Anonymous · ‎03-11-2008

Same in my home town of Glossop. All of the other networks have at least two 3g capable masts. My mates phones on Orange and T mobile barely ever drop off 3g even indoors. The near blanket 02 HSDPA coverage of the Manchester area ends 2 miles up the road and over the hill. Surely it wouldnt have been much trouble to enable Glossop too.

Anyway we got enabled for EDGE last summer. So whilst that was better for browsing on my phone guess what happened next...

They went and installed another mast on the same hill that is a little more powerful. They DIDNT enable that one for 3g or EDGE so now my phone constantly switches from EDGE to GPRS instead of being locked on EDGE. Very annoying.

Also I dont know if its my phone but comapared to other networks on my mates phones, my phone will more often that not fall back to GPRS or EDGE indoors in HSDPA areas.

Now I cant fault 02 for there 2g coverage. It is always there. But its almost seems so good and strong that my W980 falls back to it too much. As soon as the HSDPA drops to 2 or 3 bars out of 5 out goes the H and im back on GPRS. Suppose its the density of the masts too

Is this flacky 3g signal issue due to the superior penetration of the 900 mhz band for GSM compared to 1800 mhz used by Orange for iexample?

So I for one am urging O2 to expand their coverage to match the other operators.

Anonymous · ‎03-11-2008

there is no 3g where i am (Newry, N.I)and sign of it in the future which is so annoying when you have been using 3g/devices for years, why local shop are advertising and selling mobile broadband which correct me if i'm wrong is a bit pointless without 3g reception in the area

Anonymous · ‎04-11-2008

i have a n95 and i am the same poor 3g coverage.was on 3 for years with mint 3g coverage .o2 is ***

Anonymous · ‎04-11-2008

Hi all,

Ok I to have an iPhone 3G phone and never really have any kind of continued 3G service. I live in the CM2 area Chelmsford which I have been told is a full 3G coverage area, even though the 3G connection last approx 3-6 seconds before it goes back to the GPRS service. Now everyone was under the impression from the sales people and advertising that 3G was one of it's selling points. No one was told that 3G was only in certain areas, even in those areas it wasn't up to speed yet. So my point is the fact that not only has O2 told a fib but they cannot seem to give anyone a straight answer until I called today.

This what I was told at 16:00hrs 03/11/08. " 3G is only in certain areas, it is not in every area hense if you travel out of a 3G area your voice and Internet will revert back to GPRS mode. Even though 3G is up and running they are still having issues with stability. 3G is greatly affected by built up areas such as if you are in doors your 3G may be interupted (this I imagine is very untrue otherwise it would affect your phone signal aswell)".

So pissed off as I am not just for the crappy 3G coverage but because I have gone through three iPhones and been lied to. Maybe this country should take a tip from Japan as they have had 3G for years with full coverage and no problems.

Anyway anyone who lives in the CM2 area you are in a 3G area but the network that handles 3G is down and we have to just wait until it's up again. I was told to wait a day then reboot your iPhone so it can pickup the 3G network again....if it's back up.

Anonymous · ‎16-11-2008

well nearly 2500 views on this thread so this must be an important issue with folks. It's a shame nobody from o2 can be bothered to post on here and tell us what future plans and investments they are making regarding there 3g coverage. Hopefully ofcom can get off there ##### and do something too!!!

I've got another 12 months left on my contract and i wont be renewing it with o2. I'll be switching to another network who has invested in the necessary technology to provide customers with the service they need.

Maybe then i'll be able to watch the bbc's iplayer on my phone and utilize all the other services 3g was designed for.

Anonymous · ‎17-11-2008

Further more to my earlier rant ive just taken a look at the checker more closely. Blanket HSDPA coverage that covers the Manchester area end 2 miles over the hill which I already knew. I thought it was because we are semi rural or too small a town to be enabled but they have enabled New Mills and Buxton which are both close (and of simalar size) to here. These two areas standout from big Manchester HSPDA blob on the map.

Come on O2, do me and my frustrated Glossop 02 friends and attach us to the big purple Manchester HSDPA blob on the map. Youve enabled our other close by High Peak villages.
Although im grateful that we have EDGE here I suppose, which came earlier this year after me praying for it. WIll HSPDA follow ?

Anonymous · ‎22-11-2008

I have a O2 Nokia N95 and Work T-Mobile Nokia N95 and I find that T-Mobile 3G coverage to be fantastic, O2 is very very poor in all areas I travel from Bristol to London. It was a shame that T-Mobile does not have Edge Data Network in UK otherwise they would have had the Apple IPhone deal.

Ofcom threatens O2 over 3G coverage failure
'Comply or else... '

Tags: 3g, coverage, ofcom, o2

By Natasha Lomas

Published: 27 February 2008 14:36 GMT

Show related
articlesTelecoms regulator Ofcom has threatened to shave months off O2's 3G licence term after the mobile operator failed to meet a coverage deadline.

O2 was obliged by the terms of its 3G licence to achieve 80 per cent overage of the UK population by the end of December last year - but Ofcom said O2 has only reached 75.69 per cent coverage, a shortfall of around 2.5 million people.

The regulator has now given O2 a deadline of 30 June to meet its coverage commitments. Failure to do so could result in the term of its 3G licence being shortened by four months - meaning the licence would end on 31 August 2021, rather than 31 December 2021, Ofcom warned. This would be equivalent to "a significant financial sanction" of at least £40m, it added.

An O2 spokeswoman told silicon.com the reason it had missed the December deadline was down to its strategy of prioritising 3G rollouts in areas of high demand - and because it wanted to ensure high quality, in-building coverage in those areas.

The spokeswoman said the coverage shortfall is equivalent to around 100 masts but she said O2 expects to have these in place by the June deadline.

An O2 statement said: "We have rolled out our 3G network to over 75 per cent of the population. Where we do have coverage it has consistently provided the best quality. We also have one of the larger 3G customer bases.

"We accept that Ofcom is enforcing the terms of our licence. However we are fully committed to growing our 3G coverage and customer base with the best quality 3G service and are confident that we will have met Ofcom's requirement before June 2008."

O2, which paid £4bn for its 3G licence in 2000, is the only one of the UK's five 3G licence holders not to meet its coverage obligations. The other four licence holders are H3G, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Speaking to silicon.com earlier this month, Ben Dowd, O2's head of business sales, said the company plans to "invest heavily" in 2G - as it expects voice traffic to grow by between 30 and 40 per cent in the next couple of years. He added that its 3G network will be fully HSDPA-enabled by the end of this year.

Anonymous · ‎27-11-2008

Then i should assume that i must be happy with what i get now and wait till the end of this year to get a proper 3G signal from O2.

Uxbridge - Middlesex

P.S.>*sing*waiting for a 3G cristmas*sing*