A MAJOR phone network is promising faster download speeds and better signal to potentially millions of Brits.
The “first-of-its-kind” Giga Site has been switched on in the UK to boost phone signal – with as many as 1,000 planned.
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It’s part of a major upgrade for O2 customers by mobile giant Virgin Media O2.
The new speeds come courtesy of a “Giga Site”, which uses powerful network tech paired with some phone signal spectrum snapped up from Vodafone.
O2 says that the first site is in Paddington, London, but that many more are on the way.
The Sun understands that this one will be one of the fastest – if not the fastest – live commercial sites in the UK.
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FAST ACT
“The switch on of our first Giga Site here in central London is a really important demonstration of how we are investing and innovating to continue improving our mobile network and customer experience,” said O2 mobile access boss Dr Robert Joyce.
“These new sites will deliver faster speeds, greater capacity, and more reliable connections for our customers.
“As we carry out upgrades and roll out hundreds more Giga Sites across the country, we’ll put our new spectrum to work helping us keep improving mobile connectivity nationwide.”
According to O2, customers will get more reliable signal with faster speeds.
The site combines “low, mid and high-band spectrum”, which refers to the range of radio spectrum that O2 is allowed to deliver signal across.
Some of that spectrum was scooped up from Vodafone as part of a major deal with Virgin Media O2.
It gives O2 about 30% of the UK’s total mobile spectrum range.
“By bringing together different spectrum bands on one mast, the operator can offer strong, reliable signal to a large area,” O2 explained.
“The single site is using a combination of low band spectrum to provide broad coverage, mid band to offer additional capacity, and high band to give customers very fast speeds.”
SPEED BOOST
O2 says that the move took “months” of planning, and paves the way for a massive role out of Giga Sites across the UK.
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According to the phone giant, there will be as many as 1,000 of them appearing across the UK “throughout the next year”.
O2 says that the new site can deliver more than the “entire O2 UK network carried at the peak of the London 2012 Olympics”.
And it said the one site alone can support 2,000 HD video streams at the same time.
The site will deliver speeds to any O2 customer passing through the area, boosting their 5G internet.
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And by the end of the year, Brits across the country will be benefitting from the O2 upgrade.
O2 added that this is “one of the first deployments of its kind” on a live European network.
