O2 to Extend 4G Mobile Coverage to 250000 Rural UK Residents UPDATE

Mobile operator O2 (Telefonica) has announced that they will invest in a further expansion of their 4G (Mobile Broadband) network coverage to reach 339 extra rural communities (defined as an area with a population of 100+) across the United Kingdom by the end of 2018, which could benefit 250,000 residents.

As part of the announcement, which is expected to benefit locations from Drumoak to Lizard, O2 has also commissioned and published some new independent research from Development Economics to explore the potential economic impact of 4G connectivity on rural businesses.

The aforementioned report found that rural businesses could receive an overall revenue boost of up to £141m driven by the implementation of 4G, representing a potential £45m boost to the UK economy and boost to underlying employment growth of 31%. As usual quantifying such things is notoriously difficult and thus such estimates should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Derek McManus, COO at Telefonica UK, said:

“We know mobile has the power to make a real, positive difference to people’s lives and businesses in rural communities across Britain. That’s why we’re proud to be investing in 4G connectivity for more than 330 rural areas by the end of this year.

Technology never stands still, which is why we are always looking for the right partners and investing in our future network. Whether trialling 5G to support a future-proof, mobile Britain, or ensuring the remotest parts of rural Britain can connect to 4G, for O2, this is about continuing to invest in all areas – not one at the cost of the other.”

Margot James, UK Digital Minister, said:

“4G coverage is improving all the time, but there’s more to do, particularly in rural areas. We’ve already reformed planning laws to make it easier and cheaper to install and upgrade digital infrastructure, and it’s great to see O2 and the rest of industry responding to ensure more people in rural Britain can share the brilliant benefits of 4G connectivity.”

Unfortunately today’s announcement doesn’t tell us what kind of % UK coverage improvement this expansion will deliver for their 4G network or whether the areas they intend to target are already being served by other operators (e.g. EE, Vodafone or Three UK). Likewise it’s unclear whether they are using a specific radio spectrum band (800MHz, 900MHz, 2.3GHz etc.) or if it’s the usual mixture of bands.

A nice list of the communities they intend to target would have been most helpful, but alas mobile operators rarely share such detailed plans in public (commercial sensitivities etc.). So while this is welcome news, it’s sadly also quite difficult to judge what kind of difference it will make versus the work currently being done by other operators.

We note that the new rural rollout is said to be part of O2’s existing commitment to delivering the “best mobile experience” for its customers. The operator said they are investing over £2m per day to maintain and improve their network. Earlier this year, Ofcom confirmed that O2 had also delivered against its commitment to providing 98% indoor 4G coverage and 90% geographical landmass mass coverage across the UK.

By comparison EE has also achieved similar coverage figures and they’re now aiming to reach 95% of the UK’s landmass by December 2020. Eventually we expect all of the primary MNOs to reach a similar level.

UPDATE 11:09am

We’ve been told that O2 will deploy the 800MHz band to each of the rural communities benefiting from this announcement, which makes sense given the coverage benefits vs cost and they’ll probably also be able to harness Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE).

UPDATE 12:21pm

O2 has kindly offered up a regional breakdown of their deployment plan.