Signal Woes After O2 UK Shuts Norfolk Mobile Mast Due to MoD Radar
Customers of mobile operator O2 (VMO2) in the rural Norfolk (England) village of Horning have complained of signal problems after one of the operator’s key mobile masts in the area was disconnected, which was done in order to avoid it causing interference with a new Ministry of Defence (MoD) radar dome.
At quick look at O2’s coverage map of 4G signals in the area (pictured) currently suggests that most locals should still be able to receive a reasonable service outdoors, with 3G coverage being particularly strong and 2G still present. But indoor 4G coverage inside the village may be more of a problem. On the other hand, mobile operators are somewhat notorious for running overly optimistic coverage maps that don’t always reflect reality.
According to the Daily Mail, the problems started 8 weeks ago after one of O2’s masts was disconnected in order to make way for Serco’s new MoD Radar dome, which was switched-on at the former RAF Neatishead air base, just a mile north of Horning.
The new radar, which was built to replace another dome 8 miles away at Trimingham that was being threatened by coastal erosion, will help the MoD to scan the skies for threats. But they work best when the risk of interference from other nearby signals is minimised. O2’s mast was around 90 metres from the new dome – a little too close for comfort.
However, since the change, “thousands” of locals and visitors have allegedly complained about poor signal reception on their mobiles and, when they do have a signal, the voice and data (mobile broadband) connectivity can be unreliable and slow. The issue was even raised in parliament last week by North Norfolk MP Duncan Baker (Conservative), although the MP was initially given a rather.. different reason for the change by O2.
Duncan Baker MP said:
“If it were not so serious, it would be comical, but in Horning on the Norfolk broads, a whole area is to be totally cut off from a mobile signal until—wait for it—August, because of nesting seagulls taking up residency in the new telecoms mast. Gulls are protected and the nest cannot be moved, but if a family holidaying on the broads gets into distress this summer, they will not be able to make an emergency call. That could be life-threatening.”
Mobile operator O2 has since apologised for giving Duncan Baker incorrect information (the seagulls had actually nested on a temporary mast erected in Norwich – separate from the above issues). But there may at least be some good news on the horizon, with plans for a temporary mast to be deployed next to Horning village hall in the very near future.
A Spokesperson for O2 said:
“We are actively working to improve services for residents in Horning. Work has been ongoing to find a suitable site for a new phone mast, and we have now confirmed the chosen site which, when operational, will boost coverage in the area.
We will complete our work as soon as possible, and in the meantime, we apologise to any residents who may be experiencing intermittent issues with their services.”
The issues above are naturally a problem for customers of O2, although it’s important to point out that people on rival networks – particularly EE and Three UK – won’t necessarily be suffering from the same problems as they operate their own masts. Credits to Peter for spotting this story.
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 and Linkedin.
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So seems o2 are using 2300mhz for the village. mod shares one half of that band. I don’t get why O2 didn’t just change frequency band to 800mhz or one of their other bands. They didn’t need to disconnect a village for it. This is just complicating things.
O2 can’t use their 2300nhz in northern Ireland because it’s still in use by the mod.
I believe the antenna and radio equipment used by 2300Mhz is different from the one used by 800Mhz. If this is the case, then to do that they’d have to actually replace the hardware on that site.
If the site is 2300Mhz, then this be reflected in the antennas & radio modules deployed. There’s no magic wand to just switch on other frequency bands – the equipment needs to be installed and if low-band antennas aren’t onsite, that’s a re-rigging job.
Yeah, maybe it is different equipment needed in the cabinets. [The actual cells are mostly the same, supplying inputs for all bands they use] but they knew it was coming and they chose not to prepare.
It’s not uncommon to get O2 signal woes wherever you are!
In Trimingham – where the dome was moved from – has mobile reception improved?
Blooming unlikely! Last time I was there (2 months ago) it was ghastly on O2 and Vodafone.
FYI, the actual dome was nearer to Mundesley than Trimingham.
I guess no one told Duncan Baker MP that within the U.K. phones will use any available mobile network to place an emergency call? So his statement to the house was also wrong as it sounds like the other networks in the area don’t have an issue.
I think I’d be more surprised if he had, had a clue. Tech understanding is not an MPs skill – just simple sounds bites (that over simplify and ultimately mean nothing) for the paper are all most are skilled at.
Usual O2 haters.
Only O2 offers reliable indoor 4G where I work and speedy band 40 coverage too.
Doesn’t stop the muppets paid by EE commenting. This from the network with robot voice and terrible indoor reception.
I’m on Sky (o2), can can tell you in Urban Norwich it can be terrible, at home in NR9 and at work in NR6 we get daily dropouts “there is an issue with a Mast in your area”, and in NR4 blackspots around the UEA, with not even a 2g signal.
If you go to this site’s forum and look at the threads for all 4 networks, you’ll understand the reason for O2 to have so many “haters”.
I have no doubt that they’re good for you, but the mast sharing agreement they had with Vodafone left each network with bad performance on the half of the country they don’t manage. If you try to use O2 on a Vodafone-managed area, it’s unlikely that you’ll have B40 everywhere and good speeds.
Then there’s over reliance on bands like B20. Go to a site like CellMapper and you’ll find plenty of areas with bands that are supported to be used only for base coverage or rural. They deploy B20 all by itself on beaches, city centres, etc! Sure, calls will work fine, but good luck using your data.
EE is far from perfect, but for most people, they are better. O2 plans their network around the slow B20, while EE plan theirs around the faster, but shorter range B3, using B20 only for base coverage in most places (as it’s supposed to be done), so usually they have better speeds. Again, if you check the forums or look at the average speeds across the networks, you’ll understand that overall EE is better.
And do you want to talk about O2’s lack of investment/upgrades which paired with the number of customers they have makes them worse than Three(!) in some areas? I didn’t think I’d ever say that Three was better than O2, but in my area, they already are… at home I get 5G on Three, while O2 often fails to load Google’s homepage on 4G (or often 3G).
O2 is better for you and that’s great, but they have more bad spots in the country than EE. No one needs to be paid to understand or say this, all you have to do is look at speed tests or travel around the country while actually using your data plan.
As for anyone saying that lack of mobile coverage is a life & death situation, I hope they don’t travel to any remote locations where no mobile service exists. They’re becoming harder to find, but how these snowflakes ever managed before mobile service is a myatery to me.
EE was also rubbish when I was there a couple of weeks ago. Was it a shared mast?
I doubt it. If it was shared, it’s more likely to be shared with Vodafone. EE usually shares sites with Three.
Maybe EE was bad in the area or people got EE SIMs since O2 wasn’t working as expected, creating unexpected load on EE’s network?
O2 were already struggling with their own customers plus MVNOs like Tesco, Sky and Giff Gaff then they migrated MVNO Virgin Mobile post the merger with Virgin Media and it turned into the M25.
Their 4G network on B20 only in lots of areas and it simply doesn’t have the capacity.