Mobile broadband continues to increase in popularity, but this is putting more and more strain on the struggling UK networks. Now O2 has announced that it will be investing heavily in its network to combat the problem.
The efficiency of mobile broadband depends on how well the network can cope with the number of users. With the rise in popularity of mobile broadband, and the huge increase in the number of people using smartphones, the networks fear that this could severely affect their ability to deliver a good service.
O2’s plan is to invest a huge amount of money into its mobile broadband network over the next few years in addition to the £500 million that it has already invested over the last two years. A spokesman confirmed that this was not due to increased competition from other mobile broadband providers, but to enable O2 to handle data at higher speeds.
The upgrade will take place over the next few years. It will see 40 mobile data hotspots installed in London before Christmas, with 160 more arriving in the capital over the next year. In 2010 O2 will install a further 1,500 hotspots throughout the rest of the country.
The 3G network currently covers 84% of the country, and the investments will go some way to counteracting the criticism that O2 has received recently for its poor performance.
The chief technology officer for O2, Derek McManus, said that O2 is now “aggressively accelerating” the growth of its network to “retain our focus on being number one for customer satisfaction.”
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