By David Snelling,Kieran Isgin
Copyright dailyrecord
O2 customers who have been battling sluggish downloads and patchy signal when not linked to Wi-Fi have just received some encouraging news. The UK network, now operating under the Virgin Media banner, has revealed a major upgrade being rolled out across the nation. This enhancement introduces next-generation 5G – dubbed 5G Standalone – to 500 towns and cities. Virgin Media O2 is claiming that this improvement will reach more than 70% of the UK population – roughly 49 million people – representing the biggest 5G Standalone rollout in the country. Basically, those utilising O2 on a 5G device will benefit from broader 5G coverage, quicker download speeds and reduced latency. O2 also guarantees that this upgrade won’t result in any extra costs and will be incorporated into existing contracts, reports the Express . It’s been disclosed that the historic town of Bakewell, Derbyshire, became the 500th location to gain from Virgin Media O2’s industry-leading 5G Standalone deployment, a milestone celebrated by the creation of a record-breaking giant Bakewell Tart. 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.” Customers with compatible handsets and 5G SIMs won’t need to lift a finger. They’ll automatically enjoy enhanced speeds whilst on the go. 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.” O2 isn’t the only network making substantial announcements. UK mobile operator EE has recently unveiled “major network updates” which it asserts will benefit its millions of subscribers by enhancing the reliability of EE’s 5G infrastructure. The firm claims to be the first mobile operator globally to activate what’s known as Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC) technology, which reportedly delivers “faster, more consistent performance” of 5G, consequently providing quicker download speeds and video streaming along with more dependable connections to smartphones using the EE 5G network.
