Home » UK ISP News Archive » Article Tag: 4G (1680 Posts)

Articles for Category Tag - 4G

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.

Ofcom Spring 2023 Study – Gigabit Broadband Covers 73% of UK

19th May, 2023 (20 Comments)

Ofcom’s Spring 2023 report into UK fixed line broadband and mobile coverage has found that “full fibre” (FTTP) now reaches 48% of the UK (up from 42% in Sept 2022), while 73% are within reach of a gigabit-capable network (up from 70%) and 73-82% of premises can get outdoor 5G cover from at least one operator (up from 67-78%).

Vodafone Top 1.22m UK Broadband Customers and Cuts 11,000 Jobs

16th May, 2023 (13 Comments)

Vodafone UK has released their latest Q4 FY23 results, which reveals that their fixed line broadband ISP base grew strongly to total 1.223 million customers (up by 65k in the quarter vs 47k in Q3 FY23), while their mobile base also now totals 17.92 million (up by 118k vs 259k in the previous quarter). But job cuts galore.

Virgin Media O2 Deploy 4G at 50 UK Rural Mobile Masts Under SRN

15th May, 2023 (5 Comments)

Mobile operator O2 (VMO2) has today confirmed that they’ve so far deployed “reliable” 4G based mobile broadband coverage across a total of 50 rural sites in the United Kingdom, which forms part of their commitment under the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) project with the Government.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland map outline.

Councils Warn Digital Divide Holding Some Back in Broadband Slow Lane

12th May, 2023 (16 Comments)

The Local Government Association, which represents councils from across England and Wales, has published a “new” report that warns of how poorer households are being left behind in the “broadband slow lane“, with access to fixed broadband being 15 percentage points lower in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived.

SMARTY UK Offers 100GB Mobile 5G SIM for £12 Per Month

11th May, 2023 (0 Comments)

Mobile operator SMARTY, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on Three UK’s network, has launched a new SIM Only offer that gives new customers 100GB of mobile broadband data for just £12 per month, and you can also still get unlimited data for just £16 per month (£20 after 12-months).

BT Finish First Live UK Field Trial of OneWeb Linked 4G Mobile

7th May, 2023 (6 Comments)

BT’s Chief Security and Networks Officer, Howard Watson, has revealed that the operator has just completed a live field trial that, for the “first time ever“, made it possible for them to deploy a 4G (LTE) mobile cell site that was backhauled (data capacity) over OneWeb’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellites.

EE Offers Free UK Mobile Broadband Data for King’s Coronation UPDATE2

5th May, 2023 (23 Comments)

Customers of mobile operator EE (BT) may be pleased to learn that they’ll be zero-rating data (free usage) across their entire mobile network for the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th May 2023, “as the nation unites to celebrate the crowning of His Majesty” (yeah.. ok).

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Virgin Media O2, Starlink and Wavemobile Trial Brings 4G to Remote Wales

5th May, 2023 (15 Comments)

O2 UK (VMO2) has completed a unique trial in an extremely remote part of Wales, which successfully worked with Starlink’s network of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Wavemobile to deploy a mobile broadband capable 4G signal to the area around the South Stack Lighthouse in Holyhead, Anglesey.

EE UK Launch New Console Trade-In Service and PC Gaming Laptop Bundles

3rd May, 2023 (4 Comments)

Mobile network operator EE (BT) has today launched a new console (video gaming) trade-in service that offers cashback for old gaming hardware. On top of that, they’ve also launched a new range of PC gaming packages featuring premium laptops, which are designed to complement their 4G and 5G (mobile broadband) plans.

scotland_rural_5g_mast_Scottish_government

First of 120 Planned UK Gov Funded 4G Mast Upgrades Goes Live in Scotland

3rd May, 2023 (1 Comment)

The first UK government-funded rural 4G mobile mast upgrade has today been completed in the Lockerbie area in Scotland, which forms part (£75m) of their industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project with EE (BT), Vodafone, Three UK and O2 (Virgin Media). A further 120+ masts in Scotland are also set for upgrades.

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Analysts Find Gaps in Mobile Signal on London to Edinburgh Train

2nd May, 2023 (17 Comments)

Mobile network analysts at Streetwave have published the results of a new survey, which examined the mobile signal quality on the London (England) to Edinburgh (Scotland) train route. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the route was found to suffer from various “not-spots“, while EE’s network performed the best for mobile broadband.

April 2023 BT Progress Update on 10Mbps UK Broadband USO

2nd May, 2023 (7 Comments)

UK ISP BT has published their latest biannual (April 2023) update on the progress they’ve made in delivering the 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO) for broadband, which reveals that they’ve so far built a USO connection to over 7,000 premises (up from 5,900 in Oct 2022), with 800 further builds in progress (down from 2,000).

EE UK Put Two New 4G Mobile Masts Live on Orkney in Scotland

26th April, 2023 (1 Comment)

Mobile operator EE has successfully deployed two new 4G (mobile broadband) mobile masts at Rackwick (Hoy) and Stronsay on Orkney, one of north Scotland’s most remote island communities, as part of the Scottish Government’s £28.75m 4G Infill Programme (S4GI).

AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker 3 Satellite with Earth

Vodafone Backed AST Space Mobile Make First Two-Way Voice Call

25th April, 2023 (2 Comments)

AST SpaceMobile, which is backed by Vodafone and several other global mobile network operators, has successfully completed the “first-ever two-way voice calls” between their prototype BlueWalker 3 satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and a regular 4G and 5G capable Samsung Galaxy S22 smartphone on Earth.