Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: 3G (551 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - 3G

Survey Claims 4.3 Million UK People May Lose O2 Data Access After 3G Switch Off UPDATE

9th January, 2025 (33 Comments)

A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch.com and conducted on 7th Jan 2025, has claimed that more than 4.3 million Brits could potentially be left without access to mobile broadband if they don’t upgrade their device before O2 switches-off their 3G service (inc. MVNO’s Tesco Mobile, GiffGaff and Sky Mobile etc.).

Opensignal Reveal Impact of 3G Shut Down by EE, Three UK and Vodafone

12th December, 2024 (20 Comments)

Internet benchmarking firm Opensignal has used their crowdsource data, which is collected via users of their benchmarking apps and services, to reveal a bit more information about how the recent 3G mobile switch-off on EE (BT), Three UK (ongoing) and Vodafone has impacted the availability of their remaining 2G, 4G and 5G based mobile / broadband services.

EE UK Boosts 4G and 5G Mobile by Refarming More 3G Spectrum

28th November, 2024 (13 Comments)

Mobile operator EE (BT) has confirmed to ISPreview that they’ve “started the work” to repurpose more of their old 3G radio spectrum for use by modern 4G and 5G based mobile networks, which is said to already be delivering “performance improvements” (e.g. faster mobile broadband speeds) for customers in “thousands of postcodes” across the UK.

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Multiboost Gain Ofcom UK Approval for Indoor Mobile Signal Boosters

21st November, 2024 (4 Comments)

Consumers may like to know that Ofcom’s earlier move to soften their requirements for licence exempt indoor or in-vehicle “mobile phone repeaters” (here) is starting to bear fruit. Multiboost has just announced that their ‘PRO’ kit is now fully compliant with the regulator’s standards, which means more choice for homes and businesses.

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Google Pixel Owners Suffer UK Mobile Calling Problems on Spusu

11th November, 2024 (16 Comments)

Some customers of SIM-Only mobile operator spusu, specifically those that own various particular models of Google’s popular Pixel Smartphones, have been complaining that they often struggle to make or receive calls on the operator’s network when connected via 4G (VoLTE). But efforts are underway to resolve the problem.

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nPerf Finds Top EU Countries Beat UK for Mobile Broadband Speeds

31st October, 2024 (8 Comments)

Internet benchmarking firm nPerf has today released the results of a new study into mobile broadband (3G, 4G and 5G) performance across several EU countries, which analysed 61,696 internet speed tests via their app (crowdsourced) to reveal that the average UK download is 80Mbps – this makes the country slower than Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland, France and Portugal.

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Ookla Claim Quarter of UK Smartphone Users Suffer Network Outage at Least Once a Month

30th October, 2024 (2 Comments)

A new survey of over 1,000 UK smartphone users by Omdia, which was commissioned by network testing firm Ookla (i.e. Speedtest.net, Downdetector.co.uk), has revealed some of the biggest frustrations that UK Smartphone users have with their devices, with spam calls and messages, slow-loading web pages, and network outages as the top pain points.

Study Finds Three UK’s 3G Switch-Off Boosted Speeds, But Hurt Coverage

30th October, 2024 (15 Comments)

Mobile network analyst firm Streetwave has used data gathered from across Northumberland (England) and Ceredigion (Wales) to examine the recent switch-off of 3G mobile services in those areas by Three UK, which resulted in median (average) mobile broadband download speeds rising by 22%, but “Essential Coverage” declined by 8%.

Ofcom Survey Finds Growth in Unlimited UK Mobile Data Tariffs

22nd October, 2024 (9 Comments)

Ofcom has published the results from a new survey that is intended to help monitor how well the UK mobile market is functioning and whether it continues to deliver good outcomes. For example, the work reveals that unlimited data (broadband) tariffs accounted for 13% of mobile plans in 2023 (up from 5% in 2019), but plans with smaller allowances are now less common.

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O2 UK to Withdraw Inbound 2G and 3G Roaming on 1st October 2025

23rd September, 2024 (13 Comments)

The business division of mobile network operator O2 (Virgin Media) has today confirmed that, as part of their plan to switch-off 2G and 3G services across the United Kingdom, they’ll also be withdrawing inbound roaming services on both of those older mobile networks from 1st October 2025.

Ofcom Study Benchmarks Speeds of UK 4G and 5G Mobile Networks

6th September, 2024 (1 Comment)

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today published their 2024 Mobile Matters report, which uses Opensignal’s crowdsourced data (collected between October 2023 and March 2024) to benchmark the performance of UK mobile broadband networks by both technology (2G to 5G), nation and operator choice – including Three UK, O2, Vodafone and EE.

Vodafone UK – Mobile Cover Improved in Northumberland After 3G Closure

23rd July, 2024 (5 Comments)

The Northumberland County Council (NCC) in Northern England and mobile operator Vodafone UK have revealed that, thanks to the aid of bin lorries, they’ve been able to confirm that their network coverage improved in the county after 3G was retired in February 2024. Mobile signals now reach 92% of the county (up from 89%) and mobile broadband speeds improved by 10%.

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Ofcom to Revoke All Licences for Unpaired 2100MHz UK Mobile Band by 2029

19th June, 2024 (0 Comments)

Ofcom has just confirmed that they will revoke the current mobile operator licences – held by EE (BT), Three UK and O2 (Virgin Media) – for the unpaired part of the 2100MHz band (1899.9 – 1920MHz) by 3rd April 2029, which was originally auctioned off in April 2000 to support the rollout of 3G mobile (mobile broadband) networks.

Council Study Sees Positive Impact of Vodafone UK’s 3G Switch Off

16th April, 2024 (37 Comments)

Mobile network analyst firm Streetwave and the Northumberland County Council (NCC) in England have released the findings of an interesting study that monitored the effects of Vodafone’s recent 3G switch-off in the region. The study found this resulted in a small to modest boost in 4G/5G coverage and mobile broadband performance.

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UK Ranks 5th out of 179 Countries for Mobile Data Affordability

9th April, 2024 (6 Comments)

Comparison site Broadband Genie has today published a new 2024 Mobile Data Affordability Index, which explores the global landscape of mobile data (mobile broadband) pricing and affordability. Overall, the United Kingdom was found to rank 5th most affordable for mobile data out of 179 countries, putting it ahead of “global powerhouses” such as Germany (13th), Italy (20th), the USA (35th) and China (51st).

Vodafone Confirm UK 3G Signals Have Been Shut Down, Almost

27th February, 2024 (16 Comments)

Mobile operator Vodafone has this morning echoed EE’s recent announcement (here) by confirming that they’ve successfully switched-off their 3G mobile (mobile broadband) network across the UK. The related radio frequencies will now be repurposed to strengthen faster 4G and 5G services, but there’s a small catch.

EE Switches Off Final 3G Mobile Network Site in the UK

26th February, 2024 (39 Comments)

Mobile network operator EE (BT) has today published a short progress update on their national work to switch-off the old 3G data (mobile broadband) network, which reveals that the last of 18,000 sites to be shut-down – in Belfast – was finally taken off the air last week.