Virgin Media O2 will make investments £343 million to accumulate 78.8 megahertz of spectrum from Vodafone UK, pending Ofcom approval
In sum, what to know:
£343M spectrum deal secured – Virgin Media O2 will make investments £343 million to accumulate 78.8 megahertz of spectrum from Vodafone UK, pending Ofcom approval, to enhance cellular community efficiency throughout the nation.
O2’s spectrum share hits 30% – The brand new holdings increase Virgin Media O2’s complete spectrum share to roughly 30%, together with airwaves within the 1400 MHz, 2.1 GHz, 2.6 GHz and three.4 GHz bands.
Improved service for purchasers and MVNOs – The added spectrum will profit each O2 clients and MVNOs utilizing its community, whereas serving to appropriate imbalances between UK operators and enhancing market competitors.
U.Okay provider Virgin Media O2 introduced a spectrum switch settlement with rival operator Vodafone UK that can see Virgin Media O2 purchase 78.8 megahertz of spectrum for an funding of £343 million.
In a launch, the provider stated that this new spectrum will materially enhancing its community place and assist to enhance the connectivity expertise of customers and companies throughout the nation.
Particularly, Virgin Media O2 will purchase 20 megahertz within the 1400 MHz band, 18.8 megahertz within the 2.1 GHz band, 20 megahertz within the 2.6 GHz band and 20 megahertz within the 3.4 GHz band.
The deal, which follows the completion of the merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK and is topic to the approval of native regulator Ofcom, will carry Virgin Media O2’s complete cellular spectrum share to roughly 30%.
The provider additionally famous that the switch of spectrum is a part of a wider deal struck between Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone UK in July 2024 the place the pair had agreed to increase and improve their current cellular community sharing association for greater than a decade. Following the completion of their merger, VodafoneThree will now take part in that community sharing settlement.
Virgin Media O2 additionally stated that the brand new spectrum will profit MVNOs who make use of the telco’s cellular community through wholesale partnerships to ship their very own cellular companies to hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the nation.
The switch of spectrum reduces the earlier imbalances in spectrum between cellular community operators within the UK, enhancing competitors, the telco stated.
The spectrum can be partially funded by the minority stake sale in Cornerstone in 2024, with spectrum funds extending past 2025 and deployment occurring over the medium time period, beginning this 12 months, the telco added.
Lutz Schüler, CEO of Virgin Media O2, stated: “This acquisition of spectrum won’t solely create larger stability in holdings throughout the U.Okay.’s cellular networks, however for Virgin Media O2 it would permit us to spice up protection and additional enhance our community high quality, constructing on the numerous funding we’re already making in our cellular community. We’re dedicated to giving our clients a dependable cellular expertise throughout the nation and this improve in spectrum will assist us ship on that.”
In February, Virgin Media O2 activated its 5G Standalone (5G SA) community for enterprise clients within the U.Okay., making it obtainable to giant enterprises, public sector organizations and small and medium-sized companies on eligible plans. The corporate stated its 5G SA rollout now reaches 500 cities and cities throughout the nation.
The brand new infrastructure helps superior use circumstances corresponding to autonomous transport, distant healthcare, and totally automated manufacturing. It additionally permits community slicing – permitting for the creation of devoted connectivity for particular purposes corresponding to augmented actuality, gaming, and robotics.
In November 2024, Virgin Media O2 claimed to be the primary operator within the U.Okay. to modify on 5G SA small cells. At launch, these had been put in in central Birmingham, enhancing connectivity in among the metropolis’s busiest areas. The compact cells had been mounted on current avenue furnishings to focus on zones with the best information demand.
Virgin Media O2 formally launched its 5G SA community in 2024, with preliminary protection throughout London, Manchester, Liverpool, Lincoln, Birmingham, Sheffield, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, York, Belfast, Cardiff, Nottingham and Slough.
The operator was fashioned in June 2021 as a 50-50 three way partnership between Liberty World and Telefónica, following a merger permitted by the U.Okay.’s Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) in Might 2020.
