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

Articles for Category Tag - 3G

Survey Claims 2.7 Million UK People Unprepared for 3G Switch Off

4th January, 2024 (39 Comments)

A new Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults, which was commissioned by Uswitch.com and conducted in late November 2023, has warned that 13% of mobile users still don’t know if their phone is 4G or 5G ready and 5% say they still use a 3G handset.

concept of wireless radio Internet. 5G mobile technologies.

Two Thirds of Councils Still Use Services Reliant on 2G and 3G Mobile

16th December, 2023 (19 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which represents councils across England and Wales, has warned that while the majority of councils are aware of the looming mobile network closures, almost two-thirds of them are still using devices and systems reliant on 2G and 3G connectivity to at least a small extent.

EE UK Update on 3G Mobile Switch Off and 5G Spectrum Refarming

12th December, 2023 (9 Comments)

Mobile network operator EE (BT) has published a short progress update on their national plan and timeline for switching off the old 3G data (mobile broadband) network, which reveals some of the first UK locations that will be benefitting from the re-farming of related 3G spectrum for use by modern 5G services.

Ofcom's mobile_signal_repeater_diagram_uk

Ofcom UK to Soften Mobile Signal Booster Requirements

24th October, 2023 (1 Comment)

The UK telecoms regulator has proposed to soften their requirements for licence exempt indoor “mobile phone repeaters” in order to reflect both the introduction of in-vehicle 5G and the withdrawal of older 2G and 3G networks. Most operators (except O2) expect to close 3G by the end of 2024, while both 2G and 3G must be switched-off by 2033 (here).

7 Million UK Smart Meters At Risk of Connectivity Loss in 2G and 3G Switch Off

23rd October, 2023 (76 Comments)

A new report from the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has revealed that an estimated 7 million Smart Meters are at risk of losing data connectivity when the old 2G and 3G mobile communications networks are closed by 2033. But the report doesn’t mention Vodafone’s recent deal to help upgrade the old units.

mobile_network_signal_tower_uk_illustration

UK Ranks 58th in the World for the Price of 1GB of Mobile Data

26th September, 2023 (6 Comments)

A new study has analysed 5,603 mobile data (mobile broadband) plans from across 237 countries in order to compare the cost of a 1GB (GigaByte) data allowance, which reveals that the United Kingdom slightly improved its rank from 59th in 2022 to 58th in 2023, with an average price of USD $0.62 per GB (down from $0.79).

Mobile Operator EE UK Finalises 3G Switch Off Plan and Timeline

18th September, 2023 (12 Comments)

Mobile network operator EE (BT) has published a progress update on their national plan and timeline for switching off the old 3G data (mobile broadband) service, which was successfully trialled in the Cheshire (England) town of Warrington (here) during the summer.

Virgin Media O2 UK Reveals Plan to Switch Off 3G from 2025

7th September, 2023 (37 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 (Virgin Media / VMO2) has today become the final operator to reveal their plan for switching off the old 3G mobile (mobile broadband) network, which unlike their rivals is a process that won’t actually begin until 2025. The withdrawal will then occur in phases, with completion by the end of that same year.

O2 UK 4G Coverage Map of Horning Norfolk

Signal Woes After O2 UK Shuts Norfolk Mobile Mast Due to MoD Radar

8th August, 2023 (16 Comments)

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.

Local vs Roaming – UK and EU Mobile Broadband Speeds Compared

2nd August, 2023 (10 Comments)

Ookla, which operates the popular internet Speedtest.net benchmarking service, has published the results of an interesting new study that examines how mobile broadband (4G and 5G) performance (i.e. downloads and latency) differs between local vs roaming connectivity across the United Kingdom and European Union.

Ofcom Publish Benchmarks of UK 5G, 4G and 3G Mobile Networks

21st July, 2023 (22 Comments)

Ofcom has published its 2023 Mobile Matters report, which uses Opensignal’s crowdsourced data (collected between 1st October 2022 and 31st March 2023) to benchmark the performance of UK mobile data (mobile broadband) networks by both technology (3G, 4G and 5G) and operator choice – including Three UK, O2, Vodafone and EE.

Clarifying Some Myths Around the UK Shutdown of 3G Mobile

3rd June, 2023 (69 Comments)

In recent weeks the news has been full of reports (e.g. here and here), which frequently warn – without challenge – that the move by Mobile Network Operators (MNO) O2, Three UK, Vodafone and EE to withdraw old 3G services will push “millions of people” into “digital poverty” and disconnect them from the internet. But are they correct?

53% of UK Mobile Users See Average Downloads Below 30Mbps

1st June, 2023 (12 Comments)

New data from mobile benchmarking firm Opensignal has revealed that 53.3% of UK Smartphone users achieve average mobile broadband download speeds below 30Mbps (sub-“superfast” level), while 14% suffer sub-10Mbps downloads and 4.7% of users spend over 5% of their time with no mobile signal at all.

EE UK Pilots 3G Switch Off in Warrington from 17th July 2023

26th May, 2023 (28 Comments)

Mobile operator EE (BT) has announced that they will conduct an initial pilot of their 3G withdrawal scheme in the Cheshire (England) town of Warrington from the week of 17th July 2023. This will be followed by their national programme, which aims to move customers off the old data (mobile broadband) network by early 2024.

Vodafone to Start Switching Off Rest of UK 3G Network from June 2023

9th May, 2023 (49 Comments)

At the start of this year Vodafone became the first UK mobile operator to begin the process of switching off their old 3G mobile (mobile broadband) network, which started with a pilot in the Devon city of Plymouth and the Hampshire town of Basingstoke. The operator now plans to start switching off the remainder of its 3G from June 2023.

Ofcom May Reallocate Unpaired 2100MHz UK Mobile Band

23rd March, 2023 (5 Comments)

Ofcom has today announced that they may revoke the current mobile operator licences – held by EE (BT), Three UK and O2 (VMO2) – for the unpaired part of the 2100MHz band (1900-1920 MHz), which was originally auctioned off in April 2000 to support the rollout of 3G mobile (mobile broadband) networks.

BT IoT National Roaming SIM for Delivery Driver in Van

BT Launch National UK Roaming SIMs for Business IoT Smart Devices

16th February, 2023 (8 Comments)

Broadband and mobile giant BT (EE) has today launched their new IoT National Roaming SIMs for businesses across the UK, which are designed to help firms keep their smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected “wherever they are” by harnessing several different wireless and mobile network technologies.