• Virgin Media O2 has switched on a first-of-its-kind mobile Giga Site in London which will provide customers with an enhanced and more reliable mobile experience
  • The site utilises Nokia’s cutting-edge dual-band massive MIMO technology and brings together multiple spectrum layers with a mix of low, mid and high-band spectrum, including new spectrum obtained as part of Virgin Media O2’s deal with Vodafone UK
  • The operator plans to install 1,000 of these cutting-edge sites across the country next year, boosting mobile connectivity and capacity across the UK

Virgin Media O2 has today announced the successful switch-on of a first-of-its-kind Giga Site in Paddington, London, utilising newly acquired spectrum and marking a major step forward in delivering faster and more reliable mobile connectivity across the UK.

The new Giga Site combines low, mid and high-band spectrum with Nokia’s new cutting-edge dual-band massive MIMO technology, which uses a large number of antennas to significantly improve 5G network performance by boosting capacity, spectral efficiency, data rates, and coverage. This is the one of the first deployments of its kind on a live European network.

By bringing together different spectrum bands on one mast, the operator can offer strong, reliable signal to a large area. 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.

The new site can deliver more than 10Gbps of throughput which is more than the entire O2 UK network carried at the peak of the London 2012 Olympics, and is enough to support 2,000 simultaneous 5Mbps HD video streams.

Following many months of detailed technical planning, the site has been able to make use of newly acquired spectrum from Vodafone UK, with the signal put to use just one minute after it was transferred. Virgin Media O2 will continue to deploy this spectrum over the medium term.

Virgin Media O2 plans to roll out 1,000 of these new Giga Sites nationwide throughout next year to bring a further step change in mobile connectivity for customers on the O2 network who will experience faster speeds and a more reliable connection.

Dr Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said: “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. 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.”

Mark Atkinson, Head of Radio Access Networks at Nokia commented: “Our partnership with Virgin Media O2 to implement Giga Sites reflects our commitment to helping our customers differentiate with superior performance. This is one of Europe’s first dual-band Massive MIMO deployment combined with our TDD carrier aggregation solution, which showcases how our latest high-performance radios and versatile carrier aggregation solutions allow operators to fully harness the power of their spectrum, enabling the next wave of 5G services.”

These upgrades are part of Virgin Media O2’s Mobile Transformation Plan, which will see the operator invest approximately £700m this year to future-proof its mobile network. The plan is focused on expanding 4G and 5G coverage, a dedicated small cells rollout to boost capacity in dense urban areas, and innovative solutions to address persistent network pain points including along railway lines, at airports, on motorways, and in stadiums and arenas.

Virgin Media O2 recently announced that it had agreed a deal with Vodafone UK to acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum, bringing the operator’s total spectrum holding to approximately 30% of UK mobile spectrum and materially enhancing the company’s network position.

Journalists can contact the Virgin Media O2 press office on:
press@virginmediao2.co.uk 01753 565656
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