Activation of an extra 5MHz of 1800MHz spectrum on almost 15,000 sites across the Three UK network has resulted in an average speed bump of 20%, while some customers are slurping up an increase of up to 40%, we’re told.
The release explains that speed improvements will differ from location to location, depending on how each site is set up, but the biggest improvements will be seen in areas that had less capacity before.
Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire clocked a 40% uplift in 4G speed via the additional radio spectrum. “As a result, customers can now enjoy faster, more reliable mobile connectivity, with increased capacity helping to prevent network congestion issues,” boasts the release.
VodafoneThree engineers “worked around the clock since the merger’s completion” to activate the additional spectrum, apparently, and Three UK sites in Kent and Sussex were the first to get the upgrades. This will expand nationwide and conclude with final upgrades in Scotland.
“We promised a new era of connectivity and millions of UK customers are already experiencing a 4G speed boost of up to 40%,” said Andrea Donà, Chief Networks Officer, VodafoneThree. “We’re moving at pace, and we’re just getting started.”
This is held up as one of the first fruits of VodafoneThree’s £11 billion investment plan. Throughout the long process of lobbying and regulator chin scratching, this was often mentioned in the many comms both operators put out on the matter as a benefit to allow them to merge their businesses.
The announcement of the merger was finally made in June, nearly two years after agreed to merge, and nearly six months after getting regulatory approval. £1.3 billion was pledged to be spent in the first year alone, and the aim is to bring 5G standalone (SA) to every corner of the country by 2034, and augment Voda's FTTH coverage with Three's fixed-wireless access (FWA) service, we were told.
At a launch event in London shortly after the knot was tied, this investment was reiterated as a mechanism to ‘build the UK’s best network.’ The firm stated that: “The company’s sense of purpose could not be stronger: to connect every community, school and hospital across all four nations and, in turn, invest in the UK’s businesses, communities and people.”
Other pledges included ‘jobs in every region of the UK’ related to the deployment of 5G SA in engineering, construction, and maintenance of telecom towers, fibre optics, and base stations, and over an eight-year build period the firm said it will create 9,000 jobs, with peak investment years seeing as many as 13,000 jobs.
Vodafone and Three made much of these network improvements in their lobbying ahead of the merger, so more progress of this type will be expected.
Source: https://www.telecoms.com/spectrum/vodafonethree-pipes-in-more-spectrum-for-4g-speed-boost
