U.K. operator Virgin Media O2 announced that its 5G network infrastructure in the city of London has reached 64% of the population.
In a release, the telco said that the expansion in its 5G footprint in London and other cities across the U.K. was chiefly due to the deployment of low-band 5G spectrum.
The company, which has committed to investing at least £10 billion ($13.5 billion) in the U.K., delivered 5G to over 2,000 sites across the country last year and now has 5G coverage in areas spanning 300 towns and cities. The operator had also committed to reach 50% of the U.K.’s population with its 5G services in 2023.
Also, Virgin Media O2 said it has upgraded 4G capacity in 41,228 postcodes across London in 2021, and more than 241,000 nationally.
Jeanie York, CTO at Virgin Media O2 said: “Providing a 5G boost is part of our long standing investment in the capital and our mission to upgrade the UK through our ongoing investment in 4G, 5G, fixed broadband and innovative new services. We are taking a customer-centric approach to our mobile network strategy, which centers on optimizing our network where our customers need them most. This means focusing on densifying our coverage where are customers are going to feel the most benefit, such as busy urban cities like London, while also investing to extend coverage in less populated areas. And with our Volt proposition, we can offer 5G plus gigabit broadband together, giving Londoners the best connectivity in and out of their homes.”
Virgin Media O2 launched services in June 2021 as a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica in the U.K. The new Virgin Media O2 is one of the U.K.’s largest operators with 47 million connections including broadband, mobile, TV and fixed lines.
Liberty Global and Telefonica had reached an agreement to merge their U.K. operations in a 50-50 joint venture in May of 2020. That same month, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to allow the proposed merger between mobile operator O2 and Virgin Media.
In October last year, Samsung Electronics announced that the company will carry out 4G and 5G trials with Virgin Media O2. During the trials, the two companies will verify the capability and performance of Samsung’s 4G and 5G network solutions in Virgin Media O2’s commercial network.
For the trial, Samsung will provide its baseband unit, 5G massive MIMO radios, as well as 4G radios on both low-band and mid-band spectrum.
