O2 has said that it expects to achieve a 50% increase in network capacity and 30% faster download speeds by reusing 900MHz spectrum for 3G in London.
The operator said it is the first carrier to have used the 900MHz band for 3G services. It announced today that it had switched on the new network layer in London, with the spectrum already carrying 3G services in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. Other cities are set to follow in the coming months, the operator said.
O2 said that customer experience testing has shown that, on average, O2 customers on 3G900 compatible devices are now receiving data 30% faster than before the new spectrum was allocated for 3G use. Network capacity in the areas where 3G900 has been rolled out has also increased by 50%, the operator said.
Nigel Purdy, Chief Technology Officer for Telefónica O2 UK, said, “This 3G900 switch-on is the latest in a series of network enhancements for O2, and is a first for the UK and Telefónica. We’ve acted quickly to bring the benefits of 3G over 900MHz spectrum to our customers and we’re thrilled with the results. Quite simply, on O2’s network, more customers can use more data, and experience it quicker.”
O2 said that test company Siroda has released results of a survey of UK mobile networks, comparing the data speeds of five UK operators. The tests, conducted over a 60-day period across 169 static test locations, measured mobile data connection speed at peak periods throughout the day.
According to O2 the tests show that, between October 2010 and January 2011, O2 offered the “best” data experience in 12 out of 13 cities. On average, web page access on the O2 network was delivered in 1.4 seconds, over three times quicker than the slowest operator. Data performance was measured by testing the time to access a webpage and the speed of downloading a typical music file. Tests were conducted between 8am and 9pm Monday to Sunday. Cities covered included London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield.
Mobile Europe has approached Siroda to ask if we can access the original data.
Ofcom gave the go ahead for spectrum refarming in January. It had said previously that refarming 3G at 900Mhz would mean that “the extent of the improved quality of coverage is relatively small”.