4g: Some roll-out news.

clohamon

Will Goodbody of RTE

But where exactly are all the networks with their 4G network construction? O2 says it is well advanced in readying its network for 4G rollout and will begin a pilot in late autumn, beginning in Dublin. Eircom says it is currently trialling 4G services in Dublin, Athlone, Galway and Carlow across a range of devices and will launch commercial services in the autumn. It plans to spend €350 million over five years building a new 4G network and improving its existing 3G infrastructure – something all the other operators are also doing.
Three is currently delivering equipment and engineer testing will take place from August. It will invest €25m in this phase alone and 4G will be available to its customers from October, first in all major cities. Vodafone is currently piloting in Dublin, Waterford and Kilkenny. More sites are coming on stream all the time it says, and by the end of August it will have 100 4G locations. Like the others, it plans to launch its network to customers in the autumn.

But networks are just one issue. The operators face a series of other challenges in getting 4G up and running. One big issue is the availability of handsets. While new devices are being launched all the time which are LTE or 4G compatible, there still aren’t all that many, and most are at the premium end of the market. Also, some only work on certain spectrums, making them incompatible for some of the operators networks.

http://www.rte.ie/blogs/business/2013/07/05/4g-coming-soon-to-a-network-near-you/

watty

A Nationwide LTE network with 90% coverage and improved capacity and speed over 3G would cost over €1000 Million.

So obviously they are all either "cherry picking", doing fill in or evaluation. €25Million is tiny.

At end of it what will there be? Slightly better performance, slightly different patchy coverage, because Comreg was more concerned to raise Revenue than utilise Spectrum Efficiently or mandate good performance and coverage.
The Comreg "Light Touch" Regulation is purely Revenue raising for Treasury. It's a criminal waste of a unique National Resource that can't be duplicated nor increased.

Nolars

Its a joke, they should be rolling out in rural ares first never mind the urban areas where most of them will have efiber by the end of the year.

drunkmonkey

Why would 02 be rolling out their own 4G network and three doing the same, seems like another case of paper not refusing ink....I'd guess both networks roll outs are more or less on hold, which is also probably delaying Eircom and vodafone as well.
I'd expect 4G by maybe this time next year or late 2014, all the networks launching in autum, can't see it happening and if they do the coverage will be non existent outside major cities..

clohamon

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I'd expect 4G by maybe this time next year or late 2014, all the networks launching in autum, can't see it happening and if they do the coverage will be non existent outside major cities..

They know the government will have to pay them to roll-out to rural areas. The less they do on their own, the more subsidy they will get.

watty

Short sighted of Comreg not to have better licence conditions.

bealtine

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Why would 02 be rolling out their own 4G network and three doing the same, seems like another case of paper not refusing ink....I'd guess both networks roll outs are more or less on hold, which is also probably delaying Eircom and vodafone as well.
I'd expect 4G by maybe this time next year or late 2014, all the networks launching in autum, can't see it happening and if they do the coverage will be non existent outside major cities..

don't forget the retarded 70% POPULATION coverage clause