Telefónica O2

Last week I was interviewed for a forthcoming report on mobile network sharing and it prompted me to catch up on the latest 3GPP developments in this area. As network sharing becomes widespread in the mobile industry, a range of new capabilities are under development in 3GPP. These will provide network operators with much greater… Read more

Last month I welcomed the fact that Ofcom had expedited the introduction of 4G in the UK by allowing Everything Everywhere to launch LTE services in advance of the UK’s forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum. Today, Everything Everywhere revealed its 4G plans in more detail. Under its new brand of “EE” it will offer LTE services… Read more

While the announcement has been some time coming, I’m delighted to see that the commercial realities of 4G LTE investment have caused O2 and Vodafone to make a very wise partnership decision. Vodafone and O2 have announced that they will pool their networks of radio masts and antennas, which will accelerate their roll-out of 4G… Read more

The forthcoming auction of 800MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum, and the associated licence conditions, will have a profound impact on the mobile industry in the UK. In its latest consultation and proposals, Ofcom highlights that the auction is “likely to be the last significant opportunity to obtain prime mobile spectrum for many years” and that the… Read more

In his wireless blog, Mark Heath, of Unwired Insight calls on Ofcom and the UK government to do more. Industry regulators will not escape budget cuts as the UK government attempts to control spending. The government announced last week that it will merge the telecommunications regulator (Ofcom) with the postal regulator (Postcomm) and several Ofcom… Read more

In his mobile blog, Mark Heath, of Unwired Insight, discusses the latest developments with Orange and T-Mobile in the UK. Consolidation of mobile networks in the UK is long overdue and I’m relieved to see that the combination of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK, known as Everything Everywhere, is rapidly moving into implementation. In an… Read more

In his wireless blog, Alastair Brydon of Unwired Insight worries that mobile users will become increasingly dissatisfied with their mobile broadband services. The latest twist in the long-running saga of UK spectrum modernisation came this week, as the Competition Appeal Tribunal upheld a decision by Ofcom, that Telefónica O2 and Vodafone must wait to refarm… Read more

Mobile data pricing for traffic-intensive services is becoming more affordable for consumers, with a proliferation of flat-rate tariffs for smartphones and flat-rate mobile broadband bundles, with generous monthly usage allocations (for example, 5GB or more). Flat-rate pricing for smartphones is becoming increasingly prevalent, to give mobile users the freedom to access a broadening range of… Read more

While total network capacity is an important metric for 3G operators, they should be more interested in the network capacity per 3G device, which indicates the total average monthly traffic per 3G device that their networks can realistically support. 3G operators with relatively small customer bases (for example, new-entrant 3G operators) will generally be able… Read more