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Slow 4G speeds in Preston.

ClaydonKing
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Hello all. Recently I have noticed my 4G data speed in the Centre of Preston  and my work address has dropped considerably. Last speed check I had 0.4mb/s download and 1.05mb/s upload. This has been in several locations. I have been getting error messages on my browser such as ' website unavailable' ' network unavailable ' or ' server error . Please check connection settings ' all while the phone is showing 4 bar signal strength on 4G . I then switched to 3G service and been getting 13mb/s download and roughly 5mb/s upload. 

 

Conpare and contrast.4 years ago I did a speed test from my new S6 edge in centre of Preston. I got 40mb/s . I remember it well as was quickest internet I ever had( still waiting for fibre at that time). What has gone wrong? 

 

It can't be congestion as the population  of Preston hasn't doubled. Yes phone usage has gone up but surely O2 have banked on this when they upgraded to 4G. Also speed testing other networks ... bigger networks then o2 achieved far bigger download speeds. One was in excess of 70mb/s. if they can do it why can't O2?

 

Another problem I encountered was in Manchester several weeks ago. The handset was showing 4G+. The same events described above showed up while in a 4G+ area e.g. Ultra slow download speeds... I presume 4G+ is better then 4G?

Can anyone Help?

 

for information my device is an S9+

 

 

 

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MI5
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It is congestion and is happening in many Cities and large towns across the UK where the infrastructure hasn't yet been upgraded.
They have a plan, although we don't know what it is yet.
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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gmarkj
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4G+ is better - simply put there are multiple antennas in the phone, and on 4G+ it is showing it is using them all.
If you are getting poor results on any speed test, try forcing your phone to use 3G instead of 4G.
Most phones default to the "faster" 4G, but, with congestion, it is actually slower.

Please note, this is not customer services and we cannot access your account. Do not publish personal details (email, phone number, bank account).


Link to our guide on how to contact them can be found here

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ClaydonKing
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Cheers guys... I don't get why there is such congestion though... Not everyone in Preston uses O2. Also how comes the likes of EE Vodafone etcetc do not seem to be suffering this 'congestion ' issue. E.g. the Manchester story I talked about at the beginning. My friend did a speed test for me that day. He was on normal 4g not 4Gplus on EE and he got 70mb/s standing in exact same spot as me. It was very busy in Manchester that day but if the biggest provider can provide 70mb/s then surely the second biggest should be up there too.
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Anonymous
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No but there maybe a good proportion that are.

 

It can also depend what they are using it for as for example apps like Youtube  will suck up as much bandwidth as possible and if lots are using similar apps or transferring files on the same cell it will slow down either due to congestion on the radio path (between device and base) or backhaul (between base and network core)

 

EE is in fact the product of the merging of what was Orange and T-mobile's network infrastructure

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Anonymous
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Had to break off and can't edit my post now.

 

As EE is a combtination of two networks they have a bigger footprint even after some sites were removed.

 

Vodafone have been undertaking a network improvement programme for the past few years (and it does take years to build out or refresh a network) and O2 are now following suit after acquiring some more spectrum.

 

 

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ClaydonKing
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I understand. I can see this was a shortsighted move by O2. Apparently they  originally went for spectrum that was slower but provided better coverage over larger  areas? I think I'm right with this? And if so why hasn't there been improvement  over the years if they noticed that average speed has been going down. 

 

Tbh I'm really annoyed at the moment as I feel I'm not getting what a paid for. It's like paying for fibre but getting dial up speeds . 

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packages
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EE have way way way more 4G spectrum than O2. That's why EE doesn't get as congested in your examples.

 

For example I doubt Preston or Manchester have got O2s new 2300mhz spectrum yet as it is Vodafone controlled zone (look up CTIL Beacon for more info) so 02s spectrum will probably be 10mhz of 800mhz/Band 20, 10mhz of 2100mhz/Band 1 and 5mhz of 1800mhz/Band 3. 25mhz of 4G spectrum delopyed

 

On the other hand EE will most likely have at least 20mhz of Band 3, 35mhz of 2600mhz/Band 7 and it's likely some sites in Manchester will also have an additioanl 10mhz of Band 3 and will soon get 10mhz of Band 1. Potentially 75mhz of spectrum deployed but most Manchester Urban sites will have 55mhz deployed.

 

Vodafone are also in a better position than O2 for spectrum in Manchester. They have deployed 10mhz of Band 20, 15mhz of Band 1 and 20mhz of Band 7. 45mhz of spectrum. They also have Massive MIMO in 3 locations in Manchester which improves capacity.

 

Hopefully O2 will deploy there 2300mhz spectrum in Manchester soon but I fear it may be a while for the reason I mentioned in the first paragraph.

 

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ClaydonKing
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Thanks for clearing that up.

 

if this new mast sharing scheme has created a joint venture company surely each mast  across the country should offer equal access to both Vodafone and O2 spectrums as it is a jointly owned company?  Why is progress slow because it's Vodafone controlled? Surely it's 50 50? If O2 have got new spectrum then surely that joint venture company should be instructed to put it on the network across it all ? 

 

If not then effectively O2 has shown two fingers too and abandoned half the country. And I hate to say it the most populated parts. 

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packages
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Yea unfortunately it doesn't/didn't work like that.

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