O2 increases capacity in 33,000 postcodes across London*

• O2 increases network capacity and speeds in residential London areas where it’s needed most
• O2 runs the UK’s largest Mobile Network and the company continues to commit key network investment to help Rebuild Britain

As part of its ongoing commitment to help Rebuild Britain, O2 announces today that since April it has increased 4G network capacity in over 33,000 postcodes* across London including some of the city’s most residential boroughs.

According to third party crowdsourced data from Tutela this has resulted in customers experiencing increased network speeds in residential areas of London across September.

With recent research from O2 revealing that almost half of Brits (45%) believe lockdown will change their company’s approach to flexible working long-term, connectivity has never been more important. O2 invests in and grows its network with a customer focus, deploying increased speeds and capacity in areas where customers need it most. As millions of Londoners continue to follow the latest government advice and work from home where possible, O2’s connectivity boost will help keep its customers in the capital connected. Some of the areas that have benefited most from these capacity upgrades are Newham, Ealing, Barnet, Hounslow and Haringey, where collectively over one fifth of all postcode upgrades have taken place**.

These upgrades in capacity mean less network congestion, faster download speeds and web browsing, and improved social media experience. Independent crowd sourced data from Tutela shows that many boroughs with upgraded postcodes have experienced  improved network throughput in September*** including Newham (+14.7%), Ealing (+12.2%), Barnet (+7.5%), Hounslow (+7.4%) and Haringey (+7.2%) . The commitment to keeping people connected has been supported by over 3,000 visits from O2 field engineers to keep local sites across London online.

Brendan O’Reilly, CTO, O2, commented: “Throughout this pandemic, connectivity has proved to be an essential lifeline for customers, businesses and communities alike. We continue to invest in delivering the best possible network for our customers where and when they need it most as we play our part in helping to Rebuild Britain.”

Other news from the O2 Network in the last quarter:

• Bradford and Coventry some of the most data hungry cities in September
• O2 launches first commercial 5G satellite lab in the UK to test autonomous vehicles
• 20% of UK business safeguarded by the power of mobile connectivity during lockdown
• Connecting Britain: O2 continues 5G switch-on across the UK in Tyne and Wear, Surrey and Lincoln
• O2 helps British businesses return to work with new safeguarding solutions
• O2 reveals vision for a greener, connected future: 5G to play key role in building a greener economy

-ENDS-

 Notes to Editors:

*33,109 total postcode upgrades across London during the period April 2020 to September 2020 inclusive

**Total number of upgraded postcodes across Newham, Ealing, Barnet, Hounslow and Haringey during the period April 2020 to September 2020 is 20.25% of the 33,109 postcode upgrades across London during the same period

***Percentage difference of O2 Median 4G downlink throughput on Android devices in September 2020 compared with February and March 2020