VodafoneThree is working its way through £11 billion of investment in its goal of creating the UK’s best network. Today sees a multi-billion deal signed with Ericsson and Nokia involving 17,000 sites across the UK.
In addition to all the hardware and services from Ericsson and Nokia four more British site-build partners have been announced in the form of Beacon Communication Services Limited, Circet Wireless Limited, M Group Limited and WHP Telecoms Limited.
The investment is said to be likely to lead to a £102 billion boost to the economy between 2025 and 2035, through the combination of supporting jobs, improving the digital future of the UK and helping to connect energy, financial and other projects via the improved connectivity.
“We said we would deliver at pace and, just a few months in, we are delighted to announce our strategic partners, Ericsson and Nokia, that will work with us to deliver our ambition of building the UK’s best network. They bring the scale and expertise needed to accelerate the delivery of a resilient, secure, world-class and future-ready network, and together, we are laying the foundations for the UK’s digital future.“
Max Taylor, CEO, VodafoneThree
“We are proud to partner with VodafoneThree as their primary vendor to power them with the most advanced programmable network products, software and solutions in the world. Trusted high-performing programmable networks are critical to success for the UK’s digital economy. AI, automation and virtual/augmented reality won’t reach their potential without them.“
Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson
“Today’s networks need new levels of performance, trust, and resilience. We are pleased that VodafoneThree has chosen our industry-leading network solutions to build a future-proof 5G Standalone network across the UK to meet the needs of customers today and as the AI supercycle accelerates.”“
Justin Hotard, President and CEO at Nokia
Ericsson as part of the deal is set to deploy its Ericsson Radio Access Network to over 10,000 sites, underpinning the 5G Standalone (5G SA) rollout that will continue to 2034. The work will include modernisation of the existing 4G and 5G network.
Nokia will be deploying its Radio Access Network to some 7,000 sites and also modernise the voice core.
The integration of Three and Vodafone is apparently set to eliminate some 16,500 sq/km of notspots by the end of 2025 by customers of each network seamlessly roaming between the two networks. We are told millions of people are already benefiting, but as yet have not noticed a difference in my local area – if VodafoneThree and the roaming has improved things for you please let everyone know in the comments.
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Beltinge near Herne Bay has ALWAYS been poorly serviced by ALL providers as far back as Orange! When will this change?
Well the nay-sayers might just find the merger does improve things in general.
As for Beltinge, the further East you are it’s not as good, nearer Herne Bay is better with EE and O2 supposedly the better of the 4, but it’ll depend on exact location.
In your phone settings, Mobile Networks, temporarily turn OFF “Automatically select network”. The phone should then search for all mobile signals and you ought to see which is best where you are. Of course it won’t actually connect to any other than your own provider.