- Virgin Media O2 trial of mmWave spectrum achieves document 4Gbps single-device pace
- Excessive-frequency spectrum enhances cellular efficiency in dense city and business places
- Over 2,000 small cells assist high-speed 5G protection in crowded areas
Virgin Media O2 has confirmed the acquisition of recent millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum following Ofcom’s newest public sale, marking a £13 million funding to increase its high-capacity 5G protection.
The operator intends to deploy the know-how within the UK’s busiest city and business zones, specializing in airports, prepare stations, arenas, and main metropolis facilities the place community demand peaks.
Virgin Media O2’s buy secures roughly a 3rd of the overall out there spectrum, permitting the corporate to handle heavy cellular visitors as information calls for proceed to rise.
Increasing high-speed 5G protection
The brand new spectrum, comprising 800MHz within the 26GHz band and 1,000MHz within the 40GHz band, will play a key function in enhancing capability and reliability in high-density environments.
Ofcom says these frequencies have been assigned throughout 68 city areas with the very best cellular information utilization, together with London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Glasgow.
The funding builds on Virgin Media O2’s present 5G Standalone footprint, the most important of its variety within the UK, and varieties a part of its £700 million Cell Transformation Plan for 2025.
The operator has acknowledged that the brand new high-frequency airwaves will strengthen its cellular infrastructure, and it’ll additionally assist rising data-heavy functions that require each pace and low latency.
“This new funding…pairs completely with our technique to remodel our cellular community and provides our clients a reliable and dependable cellular connectivity expertise wherever they’re,” stated Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2.
Earlier than the acquisition, Virgin Media O2 carried out a dwell check of mmWave know-how below a trial license.
In the course of the trial, the corporate recorded a peak pace of 4Gbps to a single machine, a document for its community.
Though solely a restricted variety of appropriate gadgets at the moment exist within the UK market, Virgin Media O2 expects wider {hardware} adoption to align with its rollout timeline.
The corporate’s in depth deployment of over 2,000 small cells can also be anticipated to enhance mmWave protection.
These compact installations, usually mounted on lampposts and buildings, allow dense, high-capacity 5G networks in crowded areas the place conventional base stations wrestle to take care of efficiency.
Virgin Media O2’s strategy seems sensible somewhat than headline-driven, as mmWave know-how affords distinctive pace however operates over shorter ranges, making wide-scale protection extra complicated and expensive.
Its use will seemingly stay targeted on dense city zones and demanding transport hubs.
By combining new spectrum with present infrastructure, together with the not too long ago launched “Giga Web site” in Paddington able to delivering over 10Gbps throughput, the corporate is aiming for incremental, targeted enhancements somewhat than broad nationwide upgrades.
Comply with TechRadar on Google Information and add us as a most well-liked supply to get our skilled information, critiques, and opinion in your feeds. Be certain to click on the Comply with button!
And naturally you may as well observe TechRadar on TikTok for information, critiques, unboxings in video kind, and get common updates from us on WhatsApp too.
You may additionally like
