O2 population promise

[Anonymous]

O2 have promised a certain percentage coverage for 2g/3g/4g by end 2015 which sounds all lovely and rosey.

However, I cannot find what O2 define as populated.

Is there a certain amount of people in a certain specified area for O2 to consider it populated?

Wonder if the few O2 employees that are here could find an answer.

Cheers.

[adamtemp64 · Accepted solution]

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/award-800mhz/statement/4GCov-verification.pd...

It is ofcoms definition and is a computer model based on loads of post office and census information.

Also ofcom do the calculation and not o2.

[ewanrw]

It's a caveat Ofcom included in the deal to buy 4G spectrum.

In short, they have to cover 98% of the population, made up of 95% of the individual populations of Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales and England.

It's also required to be completed by end 2017, however O2 have promised to complete the roll out by end 2015.

ewan

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys.

Amazing how you have to ask customers!

[Anonymous]

This will indeed be interesting as "populated" can mean a few different things!

"a densely populated area"

"a named settlement with a population of 200 or more persons."

"a place or area with clustered or scattered buildings and a permanent human population"

However what is the actual terminology used in the agreement by O2?

Edit: Must learn to post quicker!

[adamtemp64]

 from linked pdf so if a place has a postcode it is populated (my interpretation)

Population distribution model

2.4 A population dataset based on residential delivery point data at a postcode unit level will be used. The current version of this is Geopoint Plus R53, however we will use the latest version as at 31st December 2016.

2.5 Population from the latest census data will be uniformly distributed across all residential delivery points within each census output area.

2.6 The most up to date full census dataset will be used in any assessment. For the first verification exercise this will be the 2011 dataset

[Anonymous]

OK, next question.

Coverage.

Does flitting between1 bar to no bars constitute coverage?

[adamtemp64]

in the document above it requires a 2mb data down load speed. (I assume you need more than 1 bar for that) and some specific signal levels indoors

But until ofcom starts to monitor it who knows

[Anonymous]

Be interesting to see if blackspots become a get out clause

[adamtemp64]

if there are blackspots i.e. buildings in way etc and above 2% of population affected o2 would need to instal more masts until they hit the 98% target i see no getout clause in any of the ofcom documentation