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Ultrafast O2 5G Network Now Live in 183 UK Towns and Cities
Thursday, May 13th, 2021 (10:45 am) - Score 11,792
Mobile network operator O2 UK (Telefonica) has today confirmed that their new ultrafast 5G based mobile broadband platform has now gone live across parts of a further 30 UK towns and cities, which takes the total list of live locations to 183.
The operator, which is deploying 5G using kit from suppliers Nokia and Ericsson, previously only had access to a limited 40MHz slice of the 3.4GHz band for dedicated 5G services (excluding any dynamic spectrum sharing with 4G), but the conclusion of Ofcom’s latest spectrum auction has changed that (here).
NOTE: It often takes a long time for operators to achieve strong coverage of a location once they start a new deployment (months to years) and the initial focus is often on the busiest areas, as well as primary cell/mast sites (i.e. they don’t magically hit 100% coverage from day one).
The company secured a significant share of airwaves in the latest Ofcom spectrum auction, investing £448m to obtain 40MHz of the 3.6GHz band and 20MHz of the 700MHz FDD spectrum band. Subject to Ofcom’s approval, the company will also have 80MHz of contiguous 5G spectrum bandwidth for providing better download speeds to customers.
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All of this will no doubt help to benefit their merger agreement with cable broadband ISP Virgin Media. We should point out that O2 has stopped publishing the full list of new 5G locations (past a certain point it starts to get too big / unwieldy to show), but they have been kind enough to share it with ISPreview.co.uk.
O2’s 5G Locations (Total of 183 to May 2021)
| Town / City Name | County |
| London | Greater London |
| Birmingham | West Midlands |
| Manchester | Greater Manchester |
| Glasgow | Glasgow City |
| Liverpool | Merseyside |
| Bristol | Bristol City of |
| Leeds | West Yorkshire |
| Sheffield | South Yorkshire |
| Nottingham | Nottinghamshire |
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh City of |
| Leicester | Leicestershire |
| Bradford | West Yorkshire |
| Newcastle Upon Tyne | Tyne and Wear |
| Belfast | Belfast |
| Cardiff | South Glamorgan |
| Coventry | West Midlands |
| Hull | East Riding of Yorkshire |
| Brighton | East Sussex |
| Wolverhampton | West Midlands |
| Derby | Derbyshire |
| Southampton | Hampshire |
| Reading | Berkshire |
| Stoke-on-Trent | Staffordshire |
| Milton Keynes | Buckinghamshire |
| Northampton | Northamptonshire |
| Luton | Bedfordshire |
| Plymouth | Devon |
| Bournemouth | Dorset |
| Norwich | Norfolk |
| Southend-On-Sea | Essex |
| Oldham | Greater Manchester |
| Swindon | Wiltshire |
| Middlesbrough | North Yorkshire |
| Bolton | Greater Manchester |
| West Bromwich | West Midlands |
| Sunderland | Tyne and Wear |
| Portsmouth | Hampshire |
| Peterborough | Cambridgeshire |
| Ipswich | Suffolk |
| Oxford | Oxfordshire |
| Aberdeen | Aberdeenshire |
| Warrington | Cheshire |
| York | North Yorkshire |
| Swansea | West Glamorgan |
| Huddersfield | West Yorkshire |
| Dundee | Angus |
| Slough | Berkshire |
| Blackpool | Lancashire |
| Cambridge | Cambridgeshire |
| Watford | Hertfordshire |
| Gloucester | Gloucestershire |
| Birkenhead | Merseyside |
| Gateshead | Tyne and Wear |
| Grimsby | Lincolnshire |
| Rotherham | South Yorkshire |
| Eastbourne | East Sussex |
| Colchester | Essex |
| Cheltenham | Gloucestershire |
| Dudley | West Midlands |
| Blackburn | Lancashire |
| Lincoln | Lincolnshire |
| Worthing | West Sussex |
| Bedford | Bedfordshire |
| Basildon | Essex |
| Basingstoke | Hampshire |
| Altrincham | Greater Manchester |
| Newcastle Under Lyme | Staffordshire |
| Rochdale | Greater Manchester |
| Chelmsford | Essex |
| Orpington | Greater London |
| Doncaster | South Yorkshire |
| Stockport | Greater Manchester |
| Mansfield | Nottinghamshire |
| Darlington | County Durham |
| Hastings | East Sussex |
| Stevenage | Hertfordshire |
| Hemel Hempstead | Hertfordshire |
| Nuneaton | Warwickshire |
| South Shields | Tyne and Wear |
| Gravesend | Kent |
| Stockton | County Durham |
| Harlow | Essex |
| High Wycombe | Buckinghamshire |
| Chatham | Kent |
| Lisburn | Down |
| Guildford | Surrey |
| Halifax | West Yorkshire |
| Cheadle | Greater Manchester |
| Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire |
| Rugby | Warwickshire |
| Burton Upon Trent | Staffordshire |
| St Albans | Hertfordshire |
| Newtownabbey | Antrim |
| Lowestoft | Suffolk |
| Chesterfield | Derbyshire |
| Royal Leamington Spa | Warwickshire |
| Ashford | Kent |
| Wakefield | West Yorkshire |
| Great Yarmouth | Norfolk |
| Wallasey | Merseyside |
| Royal Tunbridge Wells | Kent |
| Loughborough | Leicestershire |
| Grays | Essex |
| Inverness | Highland |
| Maidenhead | Berkshire |
| Dewsbury | West Yorkshire |
| Gillingham | Kent |
| Epsom | Surrey |
| Dartford | Kent |
| Clacton-on-Sea | Essex |
| Lancaster | Lancashire |
| Banbury | Oxfordshire |
| Durham | County Durham |
| Kettering | Northamptonshire |
| Washington | Tyne and Wear |
| North Shields | Tyne and Wear |
| Rainham | Kent |
| Bury St Edmunds | Suffolk |
| Newbury | Berkshire |
| Dunstable | Bedfordshire |
| Whitley Bay | Tyne and Wear |
| Wythenshawe | Greater Manchester |
| Banstead | Surrey |
| Redhill | Surrey |
| Windsor | Berkshire |
| Morley | West Yorkshire |
| Plympton | Devon |
| Bromborough | Merseyside |
| Penarth | South Glamorgan |
| Thornaby On Tess | North Yorkshire |
| Bridge of Don | Aberdeenshire |
| Jarrow | Tyne and Wear |
| Potters Bar | Hertfordshire |
| Staines | Surrey |
| Sunbury | Surrey |
| Molesey | Surrey |
| Musselburgh | East Lothian |
| Horwich | Greater Manchester |
| Wickersley | South Yorkshire |
| Waltham Abbey | Essex |
| Stapleford | Nottinghamshire |
| Egham | Surrey |
| Whickham | Tyne and Wear |
| Hebburn | Tyne and Wear |
| Tynemouth | Tyne and Wear |
| Llandudno | Clwyd |
| Blaydon | Tyne and Wear |
| Aughton | South Yorkshire |
| Thundersley | Essex |
| Birstall | Leicestershire |
| Chertsey | Surrey |
| Stranraer | Dumfries & Galloway |
| Chadwell St Mary | Essex |
| Monifieth | Angus |
| Byfleet | Surrey |
| Shirehampton | Bristol City of |
| Dinas Powis | South Glamorgan |
| Dyce | Aberdeenshire |
| Esher | Surrey |
| Harlington | Greater London |
| Chipstead | Surrey |
| Iver Heath | Buckinghamshire |
| Allesley | West Midlands |
| Joyden’s Wood | Kent |
| Shelf | West Yorkshire |
| Shepperton Green | Surrey |
| Hextable | Kent |
| Calverley | West Yorkshire |
| How Wood | Hertfordshire |
| Virginia Water | Surrey |
| Shinfield | Berkshire |
| Falmer | East Sussex |
| Danderhall | Midlothian |
| Ambleside | Cumbria |
| Chertsey South | Surrey |
| Richings Park | Buckinghamshire |
| Trumps Green | Surrey |
| New Denham | Buckinghamshire |
| Thorpe | Surrey |
| Tatling End | Buckinghamshire |
| Chilworth | Hampshire |
| Woodbine Close Park | Essex |
| Kemprow | Hertfordshire |
By Mark Jackson
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Again, No 5G in Telford! Can’t believe it! Will start complaints to my local MP.
There is 5G coverage in Telford though not from O2.
Hopefully your local MP will tell you to spend more time looking for work than spending all your time worrying about full fibre and 5G
Yeah, that’s the right direction! Your MP will immediately force O2 to fix the problem.
Telford’s MP is Lucy Allan. She probably doesn’t want any Spanish 5G in her constituency. She’d deport the masts if they weren’t concreted in.
O2 is owned by Telefonica and her opinions on the UK’s relationship with our neighbours are… vehement.
London – Greater London
That’s a complete cop out in detail really. looking at the coverage map my area (Havering) has big holes in its service. Aside from the fact that the detail for 3g & 4g are incorrect at my precise location. 4g is impossible to achive indoors and calls drop virtualy every single time. No detail is provided on geographical differences, particularly where line of sight isn’t achievable. All Networks are equally guilt of this though.
I just left O2.
Confirmed there is shocking congestion in Chester but no idea when they plan to add capacity or 5G and did the usual “well leave for free” instead of fixing the problem.
My son is on O2 and we only live a few miles outside of Chester, the service for him is shocking. EE or 3 are the only options for us
WibbledOff says:
May 13, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Hopefully your local MP will tell you to spend more time looking for work than spending all your time worrying about full fibre and 5G
How dare u accused me. DWP say I am unfit for work indefinitely as agree between DWP and Medicial Assessment Centre. Declared unfit for work for longer term due to my disability and mental health illness.
I be retired soon anyway
Max, I’ve served in the forces and while doing so I lost my left leg and often have to use a wheelchair. I was also deemed not fit for work, but decided that wasn’t going to stop me from not just working, but also from creating a successful business. Just because the DWP writes you off doesn’t mean you do nothing.
Cellmapper.Net am always surprised how accurate that site is. Just select “UK O2” and look on the map
I never voted for her Lucy Allan MP. She never there for the peoples of Telford. She always in bloody London.
The only O2 5G in the whole of Cheshire is in Warrington.
Things should improve dramatically when the 700 MHz band is rolled out with better propagation and in building penetration.
Who are the new places?
I have a 5G phone and have found nowhere in Plymouth that has 5G from O2 yet including the City Centre even though it’s listed!
hah. Bedford .. 1 mast (just like with Three)
No 5g in Paignton Devon
I wonder if this is what all of these new diesel generator powered cell towers are that have popped up in Warrington. A bit odd really as the local planning portal doesn’t show permission for any of these sites, the towers are quite large compared to the older 3g/4g towers.
Amazing how many heavy reinforced lines are running from the ground into the ones I have seen.
Ultra fast 5g?
Is this faster than normal 5g, what qualifies it as “ultra fast” 5g
This feels like an advert, are o2 paying you for this
It would be nice if o2 could fix 4g in Dalkeith before the roll out of 5g whenever the hell that’ll be. 3g is currently faster than 4g in and outdoors in the town.
The roll-out of 5G should certainly help 4G in the areas it’s done – additional RF spectrum avaiable means that the supply is increased to (hopefully) help with the demand.
As for the where/why, I think the note in the original article covers that very well: “the initial focus is often on the busiest areas, as well as primary cell/mast sites (i.e. they don’t magically hit 100% coverage from day one”. So hopefully they’ll get your area soon.
They can add this yet I can barely get a signal at all on 4g and it’s been 5 months multiple sims etc and just keep getting to wait 48/72 hours. The tech team ring me go through security and hang up which has happened multiple times then claim the case is closed as I haven’t taken it further. Worst contract I’ve ever signed
2021 and the O2 mast covering this area is still only 2G, what an earth in this day and age can be stopping it being upgraded, is it really that difficult to lay a trench or suspend fibre on poles nowadays. In theory I suppose it will just be switched off when 2G is retired, because of backhand issues.
5G only available on Tesco Car Park for me
Reading the comments here it seems all O2’s 5G will do is get you to it’s traffic management and congestion issues faster!
This is a very good step toward implementation of the state of art technology. This is a very good opportunity to increase in a excellent level the quality of Service provided to the people and specialy to the business. Congratulation!
Oxfordshire sadly lacking as usual. Lucky to get any kind of signal indoors let alone 5g.
Have Banbury and Oxford moved, Jason?
Every county’s coverage is large towns and cities for the most part as those are where the most people per square kilometre are.
Bull shine !
Harrow, suburban North-West London, no O2 5G.
Only EE and Three show 5G as available in this location, but qualify that availability by indicating on the map that EE is only receivable outside buildings, whilst Three indicate that reception is patchy.
Putting my new birthday gift Android phone, fitted out with a Three PAYG Sim, in manual mobile network search mode, whilst sitting in my living room, NO 5 G signal is shown at all, only 3 & 4G from the usual suspects O2, Vodaphone, Three, EE.
Lets guess what the company reports to OFCOM say.
Cellmapper.net not showing any masts or the repeater 200 yards away from me. Out-of-date
How about Bicester Oxfordshire, 2nd biggest tourist location in the UK due to the Oulet village, only 2nd to Buckingham palace but only poor service, just getting the outlet collage under 5g will help!
The list says Luton has 5G but your coverage checker says it’s has not ?
Which one is it then as I’m hesitating to buy a 5G phone if I have no local coverage