Media365
O2 users who are fed up with dismal downloads and a dire signal when away from Wi-Fi, have just recieved some very good news. The UK network – which is now part of Virgin Media – has just confirmed a massive boost is being rolled out across the country. The update is bringing the next-generation 5G – called 5G Standalone – to 500 towns and cities.
Virgin Media O2 is boasting that this upgrade will be available to more than 70 percent of the UK population – some 49 million people – and represents the country’s largest 5G Standalone deployment.
So what does all this actually mean for consumers?
Well, those who are connected to O2 via a 5G device will benefit from broader 5G coverage, higher download speeds, and reduced latency. O2 is also promising that the change won’t cost a penny extra and will be part of current contracts.
It’s been confirmed that the historic town of Bakewell, Derbyshire, became the 500th location to benefit from Virgin Media O2’s industry-leading 5G Standalone rollout, where the milestone has been celebrated with the creation of a record-breaking giant Bakewell Tart.
So what exactly is 5G Standalone?
As O2 explains, “Unlike previous 5G services that relied on elements of the 4G network for data transmission, Virgin Media O2’s 5G Standalone network is a new end-to-end 5G network built on the latest future-proofed radio infrastructure and a fully cloud-based 5G core. This enhances network reliability, expands coverage, and will pave the way for next-generation digital experiences.”
Those with compatible devices and 5G SIMs shouldn’t need to do anything. They will simply see better speeds when out and about.
Speaking about the changes, Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We are investing £2m every single day to improve our mobile network and provide a more reliable experience for our customers.
“By expanding our 5G Standalone network to 500 towns and cities and 70% of the population, we are continuing to deliver on that and are excited about the opportunities the new network will bring. This customer-centric rollout is about futureproofing our network and will pave the way for exciting customer led innovations that lie ahead.”
It’s not just O2 announcing a big news. UK mobile provider EE recently announced “major network updates” that it says are set to benefit its millions of customers by improving the reliability of EE’s 5G network.
The firm says it is the first mobile operator in the world to switch on what’s known as Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC) technology, which is said to result in “faster, more consistent performance” of 5G, in turn passing on faster download speeds and video streaming as well as more reliable connections to smartphones connected to the EE 5G network.
