Will O₂ finally support 4G calling ahead of its impending 3G switch off?

[NFH]

O₂ has never supported three functionalities for pay-as-you-go customers:

• 4G calling
• Wifi calling
• eSIM

Given that O₂ will be switching off 3G later in 2025, thereby preventing calls on 3G, will O₂ finally support 4G calling so that customers can make and receive calls on 4G instead of on 3G? Ir not, customers will experience a deterioration in voice coverage.

Is O₂'s current lack of support for 4G calling caused by the same technical limitation (such as an old back-end system for pay-as-you-go) as its lack of support for wifi calling and eSIM?

[Oxonian]

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@Enlli wrote:

@Oxonian Virgin had a large number of PAYG customers and they managed to close it down.

Can't see it being different for O2

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You could be correct @Enlli. I just foresee efforts to persuade customers to move to Pay Monthly and then those that remain being moved sideways to giffgaff (sic). 

I am sure that we will find out in the Autumn. 👍  

[NFH]

@madasaf1shThanks, but this leads me to ask my question again - the other three MNOs (Vodafone, EE and Three) all provide PAYG services. Therefore on what basis do so many believe that O₂ wants to cease its PAYG service?

[pgn]

Educated guess and past history, @NFH 

[NFH]

@pgn For what reasons? Why specifically O₂ as opposed to the other three MNOs?

[madasaf1sh]

@NFH 

Purely and simply: Money and on the current platform they cant offer any of the likes of 4G calling, Wifi Calling or even 5G, so it makes sense to either kill off Classic PAYG and move everyone to Bundles based PAYG, or just wholesale move everyone to the giffgaff platform which already supports all these features.. 

With the news from Tesco, then I can see them killing off Classic PAYG, and all PAYG customers been moved to Bundles or Rolling Plans...

[Enlli]

@NFH Without being rude I notice you were raising similar five years ago.

What has enticed you to stay?

https://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Discussions-Feedback/Prepaid-customers-treated-as-2nd-class-customers-...

[pgn]

And the apparent disgust when asking O2 CS to help with a PAYG problem (in person in an O2 shop or via normal support channels), @NFH 

[NFH]

@EnlliTo answer your question, my questions are primarily in relation to a relative who has the Classic PAYG tariff. Although my own secondary UK number is likewise on O₂'s Classic PAYG, I don't actively use it because of these issues, and instead I use an Irish eSIM roaming mostly on O₂ UK, for which I pay €1.60/GB anywhere in the UK/EU/EEA (except Ireland).

Nevertheless thank you for quoting my post from 5 years ago. This highlights O₂'s long delay in implementing these standard network features. More than 5 years ago, O₂ promised "We’re not currently offering eSIM to our Pay As You Go customers. We’re working on this and it won’t be long before we can offer eSIMs to all our customers with compatible phones". After its failure to deliver this, O₂ has since changed the wording.