Natty network
O2 has switched on a superfast 3G network across London and claims to be the first UK operator to take advantage of rule changes governing the use of the 900MHz spectrum for 3G services.
The company gained permission to reuse the 900MHz spectrum from Communications regulator, Ofcom in January and reckons that the new 3G900 network layer in London will deliver a 50 percent increase in capacity to O2's existing 3G network.
The 900MHz frequency band was previously only licensed for 2G services in the UK, but offers the capability to significantly improve the potential of 3G services, according to the firm, which has deployed 3G900 services in key cities across the UK since being granted its new network license in January.
3G900 services have been rolled out in Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester with other cities to follow ‘in the coming months'.
O2 said that on average, its customers using 3G900 compatible devices (including the iPhone 4 and iPad 2) are now receiving data 30 percent faster than before the new spectrum was allocated for 3G use and network capacity in the areas where 3G900 has been rolled out has also increased by 50 percent.
"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," said Nigel Purdy, CTO for Telefónica O2 UK.
O2 also released a report by SIRODA comparing the data speeds offered by the 5 UK operators, which conducted over a 60 day period across 169 locations, measured mobile data connection speed at peak periods throughout the day.
It claims that between October 2010 and January 2011 that O2 offered the best data experience in 12 out of 13 cities and that O2's network offered web page access 3 times faster than the slowest operator.
