ComReg gives free pass to Vodafone's 3.6 GHz non-compliance

clohamon

ComReg's indifference to coverage, and box-tick policing continues.

The Independent reports that Vodafone's failure to meet deployment targets of 3.6 GHz spectrum six years after allocation resulted in a "rebuke" from the regulator. The actual notice doesn't contain the word "rebuke", or any admonishment, let alone a fine.

Vodafone was required to report compliance within 3 years of commencement of the licence i.e. by 2019.

.3 Reporting of Compliance
(1) The Licensee shall submit to the Commission an annual compliance report
on rollout within 31 days of each anniversary of the commencement of the
Licence.

ComReg describes the South East deployment region as 'rural' however all but two of Vodafones's 15 sites are in fairly large towns. It also appears satisfied that minimum licence conditions have now been met but there is no mention of independent verification.

During the course of 2023, Vodafone submitted its rollout plan and various updates on same and, on 3 November 2023, Vodafone submitted a list of 15 sites in the South-East Region which it confirmed were rolled out and live.

From the information submitted by Vodafone, and ComReg’s assessment of additional information provided by Vodafone in the context of ComReg’s Outdoor Mobile Coverage Map3, ComReg is of the view that Vodafone has subsequently come into compliance with the above-mentioned obligations.

The Independent casts this as a 5g issue but the licences are actually "Liberalised Use' and one of the two rural sites mentioned, Crohaun in Waterford, appears to have no 5g capability.

Basemaps: OSM contributors, OSi

clohamon

… so just checking the required number of base stations per operator vs actual deployment, as published by ComReg dated 11/12/2023, there seems to be other areas that are also below target (red). Maybe they've been sorted since then.

And interesting that Imagine have more 3.6GHz base stations in the huge Border, Midlands and West area than all the others put together.

KildareP

I can't help but wonder, given the sale of Vodafone Spain, the recently announced proposed sale of Vodafone Italy, the proposed joint-venture between Vodafone and 3 in the UK, along with the ever-downward share price that Ireland is no longer core to the Vodafone group's plans going forward.

Looking at the above along with coverage maps and seeing how their network compares in general to Eir and Three, they're not even doing the bare minimum to try and keep up.