O2 to begin rollout of 4G mobile network in first half of 2013

By Gavan Reilly

Image: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

15/11/12 10,501 Views 40 Comments

THE COMPANY which operates the O2 phone network in Ireland has said it will begin rolling out its next generation, high-speed mobile broadband connections in the first half of next year.

Telefonica Ireland’s statement of intent comes after ComReg announced the results of an auction to sell off free space in the telecommunications spectrum, raising €855 million by renting off space to Ireland’s four existing operators until 2030.

Telefonica Ireland will contribute almost €125 million to the upfront payments, and almost €100 million in annual payments over the coming two decades.

The operator’s said its next-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) network would “ensure Ireland remains at the leading edge of communications, providing customers with significantly faster data speeds and much faster connections to the internet”.

It said the new connections it could offer, having secured the use of the spectrum, would be up to five times faster than the speeds currently available on its data networks.

The network said it would be investing €200 million to upgrade its network to 4G capability in the next three years.

“4G will significantly change the way consumers use their mobile devices and will transform our ability to meet customer demand for new products and services as they move to adopt smartphones, mobile modems and tablets in ever greater numbers,” said Telefonica Ireland CEO Tony Hanway.

“Our plans for 4G will ensure Ireland remains at the leading edge of communications, providing customers with significantly faster data transfer speeds and much faster connections to the internet.”

Three also welcomed the results of the auction, saying it would be able to roll out high speeds of up to 180 Mbps – enough to download a full-length MP3 in a fraction of a second – but did not indicate when it would begin rolling out those connections.

Its chief executive Robert Finnegan said Three’s network had been built to carry data, and did not have to cater to older-generation GSM handsets, so it was cheaper for the network to operate as it required a smaller share of the spectrum.

Read: Mobile operators pay €855 million in auction for new spectrum space

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Comments (16 Comments)
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Barry O 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
I can’t see how eircom can survive and compete with 4g and the speed of UPC connections going forward. They still advertise 8meg like its break through

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  Andrew Telford 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  IT’s called the ‘one born every minute’ phenomenon
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  Christopher Duffin 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Plenty of areas in the country with poor mobile coverage and no cable infrastructure where Eircom DSL is your only viable option, unfortunately.
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  Bilbo Baggins 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Eircom own meteor n emobile sure. Their currently rolling out fibre networks across decal towns so hopefully that will improve things greatly . It UPC leading the market on bb it has to be said.
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  Bob MacBob 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Andrew Telford – there are actually one or two people living outside of the UPC cable catchment area.
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FartBox 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
o2, its now time to cut your data prices like three and become competitive…

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  FartBox 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  http://community.o2online.ie/t5/Prepay/Three-unlimited-data/td-p/536752
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  Karen Bolger 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  I was with O2 for years but everytime they changed their plans data seemed to constantly get cut. By the time I left them I was getting 250mins , 250 texts and 250 mg data plus O2 to O2 calls and texts for €35 a month plus then had to for out if I text abroad etc.
  moved to 3 prepay where I top up by €20 I have unlimited data, 3000 free texts to any network 3000 minutes to other 3 customers and 3000 weekend minutes to any network and I also have my €20 available for spending.
  I think O2 need to look at their prices before forking out on 4g just because they have 4g doesn’t mean they’ll get customers of their prices are still to high.
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  BlackQueen 16/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  got stung last month for thirty euros for going over data by 800Mb
  
  O2 – $?#% %&?!
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Jamie O' Callaghan 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
I can’t even get o2 3G signal where I’m living.

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  Andrew Bernos 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  My situation as well. Will 4G mean increased coverage or will the “99% of the population” coverage BS continue?
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jim ahh jim ahh jim 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
To have a decent phone line connection on the N7 from Dublin to Naas would be a real achievement for O2, never mind 4G

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sid 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
another nail in the coffin for eircon

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  Sluazcanal 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Meteor will be rolling out 4g too.
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  FartBox 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Ya, I’m not sure why the journal just announced o2 rolling out 4G, that’s the direction all mobile operators are going.. and I have my doubts about o2 being the first to get out up and running in the new year…
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  Sluazcanal 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  I would say O2 were the first to announce dates. All the operators will be miving toward 4g in 2013 i suspect
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  Gavan Reilly 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  @FartBox: Sluazcanal is right. All the networks will eventually move over, but none have given actual dates for it yet. Vodafone have released since but merely said “in 2013″.
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John Stenson 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
I was told recently by Vodafone that themselves and Three have joined together to bring 3 and 4G broadband to their customers.. it can only bring good news for customers!

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Bonnie Power 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Robbie you make my brain sore!.. But good info!

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Joseph Colclough 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
It’s good to see that we are finally getting 4G LTE, however I would add one bit of caution especially to those in the country. As part of there licensing agreements, they only have to cover a minimum 70% of the population, so don’t expect it to much outside of the cities and towns.

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Gary Keegan 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
O2 would be better spending their time getting the current coverage issue sorted out. Poxy service

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  Bilbo Baggins 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  They’re great if you’re stuck in a garda station though…
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John O'Neill 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
I can’t get 3G where I live for any network despite them all saying I can. I’m also outside the national broadband area by about 2km. My only option is to get a landline in or pay for expensive satellite broadband. I’m only eleven miles outside the biggest town in the midlands. 4G… Grrrrrr

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John Finn 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Crap, I just switched over to three!!

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  Bilbo Baggins 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Is say three will roll out pretty quickly too, I imagine they all will, their fairly invested now.
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Paul Wallace 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Get unlimited data in your package like I have.

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gary power 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Well guess I’m moving to O2 then

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  FartBox 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  have you checked their data prices?? they are out of touch…
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  Colin Tyrrell 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Judging by their 3G, I think I’ll wait till I see all options.
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Mick Lennon 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Vodafone bought the lion share of 4g,wouldn’t jump ship just yet

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Robbie Lambe 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
It would haev been good if O2 got their hands on 1800MHz but they will only have it in 2015. Reason for this is that EE in the UK is running LTE on 1800MHz and the iPhone 5′s modem uses 1800MHz on their network in the UK. AFAIK the iPhone and probably other LTE devices won’t support 800/900MHz LTE bands.

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  Daithí Ó Corraí 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  you seem to a be a man who knows his stuff , if I bought an iPhone 5 unlocked from apple will it work with the 4g that’s being rolled in Ireland I’m currently with 3 but would move if I had too ? the phone has just being ordered I can always cancel !
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  Robbie Lambe 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Unfortunately it’s not looking like it would work on any Irish LTE network, unless O2 roll out 1800MHz LTE (they only have a license from 2015 so it won’t be until at least then)
  
  There are two GSM Models of iPhone 5:
  
  Model A1428 (GSM model): 4 (AWS) 17 (700b MHz) = USA/Canada only
  
  Model A1429 (GSM model): 1 (2100 MHz) 3 (1800 MHz) 5 (850 MHz) = UK, Germany, Aus, Japan, Korea, HK, Singapore.
  
  However if Apple release an iPhone with an updated Multi-Band modem then it would all be grand. There are too many bands in LTE, it’s causing headaches with device manufacturers
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  Stephen Ryan 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Three and Vodafone will be supporting 1800mhz next year so any iPhone 5 will have full 4G once it’s rolled out by the two companies.
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  Daithí Ó Corraí 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  sound Robbie it’s pure head wrecking at the moment I would be good with phones and IT but I struggled to get an answer about that question. so basically half the country is going I have an iPhone 5 after x mass that won’t work with the new networks beggars belief really.
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  Stephen Ryan 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  All iPhones will have 4G next year but only three and Vodafone will have the fastest speeds.
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  Robbie Lambe 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Sorry Stephen you are right. I had O2 specifically in my head, they didn’t seem to want an 1800MHz license yet. Looks like they’ll lose out on the iPhone.
  
  I now see the correct info on this:
  
  http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/PR15112012.pdf
  
  Daithi, stay with 3!
  
  Regards
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  Stephen Ryan 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  Yeah Robbie it’s a huge loss for them until they get that full connection in 2015! I’ll be staying with Three for the time being!
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  Robbie Lambe 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
  3, Meteor and Vfe MIGHT have LTE that the iPhone 5 will work on next year, if they release their 1800MHz LTE first. We don’t know what they will do yet.
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Neil McAuley 15/11/12 Comment reported, thank you Report this comment
Watching BBC player, RTE player movies etc on 4g will be expensive. Anybody availing of 4g in 2013 will need to set a considerable wad of cash aside http://m.digitalspy.ie/tech/news/a436080/4g-is-ees-mobile-service-worth-it-feature.html

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