The coverage map O2 doesn't want you to see...

[00hkelly]

O2 employees can see a far more comprehensive coverage map of the UK on their company computers.

this picture was taken in an o2 store after i asked the guy to check the edge coverage in the UK.

THIS IS A UK EDGE COVERAGE MAP.

i believe the words of the o2 employee sum it up nicely- "patchy at best."

if you want to see more detailed coverage in your area (location of towers, different types of coverage just go into an o2 store and ask them to go to coverage on the o2 website (they get a different version of the coverage map)).

looks like o2 have lost interest in upgrading the EDGE network in the uk for now.


ps. sorry for bad quality, taken from an iPhone

 

[emotion]

Good work!

Funnily enough, as of this morning, I've now got two more areas of EDGE on my way to work (Warrington to Manchester). So it's not all bad.

 

[t0mat0]

you'd need to overlay 3G receptionto make the best informed gues s- i thought 02 already had a public map of this available?

 

[emotion]

you'd need to overlay 3G receptionto make the best informed gues s- i thought 02 already had a public map of this available?

Not sure what 3G has got to do with it.

They have maps for GPRS, 3G and HSDPA on the site (last time I looked). If you want to see a map with low coverage that makes EDGE look ubiquitous look at the HSDPA map!

They've promised EDGE maps since November.

 

[Danksi]

You should see the 'real' coverage/network map... ouch. Makes your eyes hurt, particularly in the major cities.

 

[Hudzilla]

What do the different colours indicate?

 

[00hkelly]

the green is EDGE coverage, the white is no coverage. not sure what the red is, possibly areas there could never be coverage (hills.etc.)?

i was amazed when i went in there, there was this complete thicko woman working in the O2 shop. didnt know what EDGE was and had never heard of a coverage map. I asked to speak to someone else

 

[t0mat0]

Let's start with
http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/map.asp
then work from there. Any advance on what 02 officially says here?

 

[0098386]

My friend seems to get very good EDGE reception up here. But I think it's just that we're high up and there is always a communications tower visible. We get perfect TV, phone and radio coverage but we're quite rural. According to that map we're in one of them "patchy" areas too.

 

[Daeve]

From O2's own site (Dec 2007 data apparently)

Dark Blue areas "high - Video Calls / News" - EDGE and 3G??
Faded blue areas "standard - Voice/SMS/MMS/ Music, O2 Active"

 

[emotion]

From O2's own site (Dec 2007 data apparently)

Dark Blue areas "high - Video Calls / News" - EDGE and 3G??
Faded blue areas "standard - Voice/SMS/MMS/ Music, O2 Active"

Dark Blue is 3G (not HSDPA).

Light blue is GPRS (not EDGE).

 

[t0mat0]

Dark Blue is 3G (not HSDPA).

Light blue is GPRS (not EDGE).

What's the percentage English/UK population coverage on this? London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester at a glance seem fairly well covered.
I guess it comes down to the possible perceived value of covering commuter area stopping points as well as large urban population, and easy to cover flat areas. (though when the tube / major motorways/train lines will be covered is another matter).

 

[collide007]

Edge Not Free

I tell you something else, according to a guy i know who works in an 02 store, only WiFi access is free/unlimited. He said he's had a load of customers come in about their unusually high bills.

EDIT: This is what it says at the bottom of the tariff page: "*Inclusive data and Wi-Fi applies to use in the UK only, at any of The Cloud's hotspots for Wi-Fi, subject to fair use policy." Nothing about EDGE, this news has seriously put me off buying an iPhone.

 

[smiddlehurst]

I tell you something else, according to a guy i know who works in an 02 store, only WiFi access is free/unlimited. He said he's had a load of customers come in about their unusually high bills.

EDIT: This is what it says at the bottom of the tariff page: "*Inclusive data and Wi-Fi applies to use in the UK only, at any of The Cloud's hotspots for Wi-Fi, subject to fair use policy." Nothing about EDGE, this news has seriously put me off buying an iPhone.

Of course if you clicked the Find Out More link next to that bit of text you'd find this bit of text:

Your O2 tariff for iPhone allows you unlimited use of O2 UK's Edge/GPRS networks and The Cloud's UK Wireless LAN network, for personal internet use, email and Visual Voicemail (VVM) on your iPhone only.

But why check something that might actually be relevant, far better to speculate wildly.

So, in other words, the above is BS. Unusually high bills might be real, might be FUD but until your contact specifies WHY those bills are high everything else is speculation (especially without knowing if those users broke the terms and conditions).

 

[collide007]

The guy is talking total BS, thanks for clearing that up, I was really disappointed when he told me that. But why would an 02 sales rep tell me somthing that would put me off from making a purchase?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I live in Sheffield. Arguably Englands 4th largest city. There is hardly any edge coverage. I get the occasional spot but its rare.
When I do get it, its slow.

 

[sparkyms]

The guy is talking total BS, thanks for clearing that up, I was really disappointed when he told me that. But why would an 02 sales rep tell me somthing that would put me off from making a purchase?

because he cant afford one and is jealous?