Two of the world's largest mobile network operators are to join forces in a bid to speed up the delivery of super-fast 4G services to UK households.
Vodafone and O2-owner Telefonica will continue to compete but will pool their infrastructure to operate and manage a single network grid across the country.
The move will be seen as a challenge to Everything, Everywhere, which operates Orange and T-Mobile.
Everything, Everywhere is helping to run the 4G Britain campaign to hasten the switch to 4G - and is lobbying for Ofcom to allow its existing spectrum to provide the service ahead of an expected auction for 4G spectrum following its latest consultation.
O2 and Vodafone said the move will see 4G mobile services, which will allow users to download music and film to their phones at the same speeds as home or office computers, delivered up to two years ahead of Ofcom's requirement of 98% coverage by 2017.
The two companies won't share spectrum but will share a network of 18,500 mobile sites.
If the agreement is agreed by Ofcom the companies will form a joint century which could see up to 10% of existing mobile sites dismantled.
The idea, the companies say, is to build "one grid, two networks".
Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2 parent company Telefónica UK said: "Exceptional customer demand for the mobile internet has challenged the mobile industry to consider innovative solutions to building a nationwide network that will be fit for our customers in the future."
"This partnership is about working smarter as an industry, so that we can focus on what really matters to our customers."
Guy Laurence, Vodafone UK chief executive, said: "This partnership will close the digital divide for millions of people across the country and power the next phase of the smartphone revolution."
O2 and Vodafone team up to provide wider network coverage - Techradar.com
A new agreement has been struck between Vodafone and O2 to share base stations throughout the UK.
The move will see the two large networks sharing 18,500 sites throughout Britain, and will enable a 40% increase in site locations for each operator.
The upshot of this is wider coverage for their customers – but don't think this is the same as the tie-in with Orange and T-Mobile, which merged to form a new company in the shape of Everything Everywhere.
They're still our rivals
O2 and Vodafone have explicitly stated they will continue to operate as full competitors despite sharing the site locations – this move is a continuation of the project that started over two years ago.
The two networks are also claiming the move will help deploy 4G networks sooner and more efficiently, as achieving the Ofcom target of 98% of indoor 4G coverage by 2017 up to two years earlier than that deadline.
However, it's unlikely such a move will mean an acceleration of the 4G auction happening as that's still in the hands of Ofcom - O2 has told TechRadar this move is to improve coverage, reach, efficiency and allowing a further investment in innovation.
I'll trade you Wales for Scotland
The two networks have also drawn a massive line down the middle of the UK and divvied up the base station management, with O2 nabbing the east and Vodafone the west – although somehow O2 has managed to consider Northern Ireland part of the east side.
So what's the upshot? A more efficient network for both Vodafone and O2 customers and 10% fewer sites around the UK as the redundant masts are decommissioned. Whether this will result in cost savings for the consumer remains to be seen – we can but hope.
Voda-O2 pact may help UK get 4G faster than expected - Gigaom.com
Updated: Two of Britain’s biggest mobile operators are joining forces, forging a pact that they say could bring higher-speed networking to the country ahead of schedule.
Under the agreement, a new joint venture known as Cornerstone will operate the back end of the two networks — but they will remain entirely separate businesses, in competition with each other. And although they will share their grids, they won’t share their spectrum.
This is actually a more formal approach to something the two companies have been doing for some time, since they first announced a network-sharing agreement back in 2009 as an attempt to reduce costs.
Still, the upside for consumers is that they think it will hasten the arrival of 4G connectivity, which has been beset by delays and isn’t expected to arrive for several years.
In a statement, O2 boss Ronan Dunne said that joining forces meant both companies could potentially deliver 4G speeds by 2015 — slow in comparison with some other countries, but not bad given that the official 4G spectrum auction hasn’t even happened yet.
“This partnership is about working smarter as an industry, so that we can focus on what really matters to our customers – delivering a superfast network up to two years faster than Ofcom envisages and to as many people as possible. One physical grid, running independent networks, will mean greater efficiency, fewer site builds, broader coverage and, crucially, investment in innovation and better competition for the customer.”
Update: A Vodafone spokesman told me that this essentially relies on the two companies being able to prepare the ground for 4G together — meaning that once the spectrum auction finally takes place, maybe late next year, they’ll be able to switch on faster than they could individually. In the meantime, it will also give them broader and deeper penetration of 2G and 3G networks, the company added.
But while the promise of 4G is grabbing headlines, the more obvious reason behind the deal is competitive: rivals T-Mobile and Orange recently merged to create a single operator known as Everything Everywhere, which effectively gives them a single infrastructure across Britain’s market of 62 million people.
In particular, a faster 4G rollout is something that Vodafone and O2 are being spooked into: Everything Everywhere has already received permission to operate an LTE network on its shared 3G infrastructure. That wasn’t just something that upset Vodafone and O2 — it was something they officially complained about.
Here’s O2 from March:
“We are concerned that Ofcom’s other proposal to allow one operator to launch 4G early on its existing spectrum is contradictory to its objective of delivering a competitive market environment with four competing players. This could expose the process to further risk of delay.”
Although the Cornerstone deal isn’t as deep a merger as Everything Everywhere, and it won’t use non-4G spectrum, it seems like a case of learning tactics from your competitors: if you can’t beat them, copy them.
The other hidden question here is who isn’t being brought in on one of these deals. Britain has five major mobile networks and this agreement leaves one of them, 3, out in the cold. I’ve got a call in to the company: it will be interesting to see how it responds.
Update: A spokesman for 3 got in touch to point out that it has been in a network-sharing agreement with T-Mobile for several years, operating under the name MBNL; of which Orange is now part of following the Everything Everywhere deal.
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T-Mobile to show off its iPhone compatible1900MHz 3G Network at WWDC next week? - 9TO5Mac
A reader reports that while walking by San Francisco’s Moscone West with his unlocked iPhone 4 on T-Mobile’s network today, he noticed something strange and perhaps very exciting for those million or more iPhone users on T-Mobile’s US network.
His iPhone popped over to “3G” for just one block (screenshot, right). It went back to “EDGE” as he left the WWDC area. Our reader walked across Moscone again, saw 3G for one block, and then EDGE appeared when he got a few hundred feet away.
He has been near Moscone before and never noticed 3G.
It would appear that T-Mobile might be beefing up its network with a 1900MHz MicroCell for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, as most wireless carriers SHOULD.
To be clear, we are not implying that T-Mobile will be part of the WWDC announcements.
But, T-Mobile appears to be using its soon-to-be rolled out 1900MHz network, so maybe it is readying a demonstration of its ability to carry the iPhone on 3G (or better —”4G”, as fast as AT&T 21MB HSPA+ speeds).
T-Mobile’s CTO in March 2011 said:
A nice side benefit of the refarming effort is that our 4G network will be compatible with a broader range of devices, including the iPhone. The other important benefit of our network modernization effort is the coverage improvements it will deliver, especially when it comes to in-home coverage. As we refarm our 1900 spectrum, we will continue to fully support our customers with 2G devices.
Even though it often bashes the iPhone in ads, or more specifically the iPhone’s network speed, T-Mobile was happy to talk about Apple’s recent decision to unlock iPhones that are out of contract:
Today we have more than one million unlocked iPhones running on our network. T-Mobile currently offers microSIMs for customers who already have a GSM phone they want to use on the T-Mobile network, including an iPhone. In order to set up an unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile’s network, customers simply need to purchase a microSIM card and select a T-Mobile Value plan that suits their needs.
T-Mobile’s Value plans enable customers who bring their own smartphone, such as the iPhone, to save money. For example, T-Mobile’s Value family plan with unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited data with 2 GB of high-speed data is just $49.99 per line for two lines.
In addition, we will continue to deliver more value to customers as we expand and modernize our 4G network. Beginning this year, we will introduce HSPA+ service in our 1900 MHz PCS spectrum. When we do, our 4G network will be compatible with a broader range of devices, including the iPhone.
Virgin announced a $30 prepaid plan today. T-Mobile also offers an unlimited data prepaid plan for $30 a month (which would be faster than Virgin’s if T-Mobile’s “4G” 1900MHz spectrum could apply).
I reached out to T-Mobile for comment, and I will report back if anything is heard. Thanks Godfrey!
Related articles
- T-Mobile to rollout iPhone-compatible 4G HSPA+ 1900 MHz network in ‘large number of markets’ by end of 2012 (9to5mac.com)
- T-Mobile makes a statement on AT&T’s unlocking: ‘Bring ‘em on and save a lot of money!’ (9to5mac.com)
- T-Mobile TV ad compares iPhone 4S on AT&T to its 4G network (9to5mac.com)
- T-Mobile CTO again: ‘Our 4G network will be compatible with the iPhone’ (9to5mac.com)
- Virgin to carry iPhone with $30/month unlimited data prepaid plan beginning June 29 (9to5mac.com)
Telecom industry aims to reduce diesel consumption - Livemint.com
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New Delhi: Some five years ago, India’s telecom industry overtook the railways briefly as the country’s largest consumer of diesel, estimated at more than 2 billion litres a year, according to a 2011 report by the environmental group Greenpeace.
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