"Sorry we are experiencing high service demand in this area" since October 2013

[Anonymous]

I recently took out a contract with O2 and despite a full strength signal HSDPA (i am very close to a mast) can only occaisionally manage to get my mobile data to work.

I chatted to a really helpful customer servie guy who said that this status has been on the mast since October 2013 (13 months).

He said a couple of visits were planned for maintenance. These have both taken place now but the data is still unusable from about 7 in the morning til very late at night.

They are now building another few hundred houses in my town which will clearly make matters worse.

How are upgrades to masts prioritised? Is there anything that can be done to get my area bumped up the schedule? I am currently paying a lot for data that i can't use, and MMS messages etc regularly get stuck in the system for hours and days.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi

Unfortunately O2 don't guve status updates on mast repairs and upgrades.

Look at

http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Pay-Monthly-and-Pay-Go/Self-help-guide-Is-the-network-down-for-me-or-ev...

If on contract and you have home wifi then look at Tugo from O2.

http://www.o2.co.uk/apps/tu-go

We are also aware that as O2 improve their network system some users across the UK are perhaps suffering from mast congestion.

Use the Mynetwork app to report the masts too.

Ref mms which is 40p per message perhaps look at alternatives such as what's app and viber if the other parties have them downloaded too.

Or use email.

[MI5]

It is so much a mast upgrade that you need but an improvement to the fibre network that works behind the mast transmitting your data to the and from O2's servers.
My town is exactly the same unfortunately and it's typical of the mast congestion issues reported nationwide.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your comments.
I'm not too bothered re the MMS messages taking a while, but the ability to check email, browse the web etc while i'm out and about is pretty high on my list of wants for my phone.

Interesting point re the network behind the mast, I hadn't considered that.

I do use the network app to check the status and upload results, plus i have installed tugo too which is pretty cool and useful. Its the "data on the move" that's the snag...

Is the 13 months of it being a problem not an indication that it might be fixed sooner than later? When these new houses are built its going to be considerably worse - its another 10 - 15% increase in housing round here so I have read, or another few thousand people in a town currently of approx 20,000

[Anonymous]

I can certainly understand your worries when the the other houses have been built and occupied with possible more O2 customers living there or visiting / commuting past.

[MI5]

We have no idea if or when the fibre networks will be upgraded in certain areas so it's a waiting game if you're in to that or move to a different network as soon as you can.

[Anonymous]

OK.
Is there any way to know if it is the lack of a fibre network support in the area? BT have extended Infinity to my areas in the last 18 months, i would have thought that was the fibre backbone in place then.
Is that not the backbone that is required?

[MI5]

It's not whats available but what O2 are using that is relevant.
I guess there must be some way of finding out and there are a couple of members on here that are interested in that side of things, so they may be along later to advise on that.

[Anonymous]

Good stuff, thanks for your help I'll wait and see then.
For the record i just came out of a 14 year stint with another mobile provider whose customer service became so dreadful i couldn't bear to stay with them any more. 02 are in a different league as far as customer care is concerned so I'll just live with the data problems rather than return to their only viable competitor round here, but would still like a clue as to the length of the wait if at all possible.
Thanks again.

[MI5]

@Anonymous and @iar1980 are two such members.

They should see these tags and be alerted to the thread.

Hopefully they can offer more advice to you.