- VMO2 will tackle highly populated and rural areas with new investments
- The company will decommission old tech and embrace new tech
- Will it deliver the “superior mobile network” it envisions?
Virgin Media O2 has announced a brand new commitment to invest £700 million throughout 2025 to enhance mobile network reliability, speed and coverage – the equivalent of £2 million every day.
The company said the additional investments come in response to network demand reaching an all-time high in the UK, and will focus on areas of mass congregation and transport links like stadiums, city centers, railways and major roads.
New masts, small cells, and upgrades to its 4G and 5G infrastructure will form the basis of the investments, but the company is also looking at employing automation to “[provide] customers with a superior mobile network experience.”
Apart from boosting signal in densely populated areas with small cells, Virgin Media O2 has also revealed plans to tackle ‘not-spots’ in rural and coastal areas with even more 4G and 5G coverage.
The benefit of the company’s existing market position is that it can benefit from its cable network to boost its cellular network – VMO2 will use its own fiber network to connect mobile sites in the hope that it can deploy new mobile infrastructure more quickly.
In hard-to-reach areas, it will even use some satellite technology to connect towers, which it says is more cost-effective at tackling remote not-spots.
“We’re not just upgrading infrastructure; we’re creating a platform for future innovation. This programme ensures our customers will continue to benefit from superior reliability as new technologies and demands emerge,” said VMO2 CTO Jeanie York.
The company boldly claimed that 2025 will be the year it completes “major steps to evolve its mobile network.” That work includes removing dated tech, such as decommissioning 3G network infrastructure, and embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Looking ahead, Virgin Media O2 wants to focus on building higher-capacity networks that are more energy efficient.
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