O2 reaches 500 ‘Giga Site’ milestone in major UK mobile network upgrade

• O2 has switched on its 500^th Giga Site as part of a major network upgrade
• Giga Sites are O2’s most advanced mobile sites, combining the latest technologies to improve coverage, speeds and capacity for customers as demand for mobile data continues to grow
• The rollout forms part of O2’s £700m Mobile Transformation Plan, which is upgrading mobile coverage, reliability and performance across the UK

O2 has reached a major milestone in its Mobile Transformation Plan with the deployment of its 500^th ‘Giga Site’ in North Elgin.

Giga Sites are O2’s most advanced mobile sites and 500 have now been switched on in towns and cities across the UK, with North Elgin the latest place to benefit. Combining low, mid and high-band spectrum with Massive MIMO technology, they are designed to boost network performance by giving customers faster speeds, better coverage and greater capacity, helping meet rapidly growing demand for mobile data.

The rollout is part of O2’s plan to increase network capacity where it is needed most, with each Giga Site delivering ten times more capacity than previous infrastructure. This enables more customers to stay connected, stream content, make video calls and access online services, even in some of the busiest locations across the country.

The milestone comes as demand for mobile connectivity continues to rise, driven by growing demand for streaming, social media, gaming, remote working and AI-powered applications.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer, at Virgin Media O2, said: “Reaching 500 Giga Sites is a major milestone in the transformation of our mobile network. As customers use more data than ever before, these cutting-edge sites are helping us add capacity where it’s needed most and deliver a faster, more reliable experience across the UK. We’re not slowing down, with more towns and cities set to benefit throughout the year as we continue investing around £2 million per day in our mobile network.”

The milestone marks the halfway point in O2’s ambition to deploy 1,000 Giga Sites nationwide this year as part of its £700m Mobile Transformation Plan, which is delivering major upgrades through new sites, small cells, 4G and 5G upgrades, automation and additional spectrum deployment.

The investment is already delivering results. Earlier this year, Virgin Media O2 was named Best Mobile Network Coverage at the Uswitch Telecoms Awards for the second consecutive year, while independent benchmarking firm Umlaut recognised the company as Europe’s most improved mobile network.