Kryten2340
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Does anyone know if a 4G signal is possible on the ECML or is there too many black spots?
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4G on ECML
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michael769
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Short answer no.
Longer answer
4G coverage really only exists in the bigger cities at the moment (and even that is patchy depending on the operator), with no effective coverage in the rural areas that much of the ECML travels through.
You are likely to get intermittent reception, with it getting worse the further north you go, if you were relying on it for something you would have a very frustrating experience.
Longer answer
4G coverage really only exists in the bigger cities at the moment (and even that is patchy depending on the operator), with no effective coverage in the rural areas that much of the ECML travels through.
You are likely to get intermittent reception, with it getting worse the further north you go, if you were relying on it for something you would have a very frustrating experience.
asylumxl
Established Member
Even 3G is a struggle as you get further north. I had 2G signal for the majority of the journey from Edinburgh to London and 3G when on approach to most of the major station and the home counties..
Most people will be better off with Three over any of the 4G offerings from other operators. Three offer all-you-can-eat data allowances with a speedy 3G network to support it.
I use Three mostly but have an EE 4G MiFi for work and get 4G 'down south' with pretty decent speeds. I have 8GB per month. Tunnels are a pain though as it can take a while to reconnect.
On Three I have unlimited data (105GB in December and that's not a typo) and 4G is coming very soon. But it will be the end of the year before it has significant coverage of towns and cities, so probably a while to cover the railway lines. Still 3G with DC-HSPA covers over 80% population and rising. Good for speeds of 10-20Mbps with relative ease, even on a moving train.
On Three I have unlimited data (105GB in December and that's not a typo) and 4G is coming very soon. But it will be the end of the year before it has significant coverage of towns and cities, so probably a while to cover the railway lines. Still 3G with DC-HSPA covers over 80% population and rising. Good for speeds of 10-20Mbps with relative ease, even on a moving train.
I used to worry Three might think I was taking the mick with my typical 10-15 Gb monthly usage until I found out about people like you. Sadly I won't be able to take advantage of 4G until I upgrade anyway which is a year off, but I get good 3G cover for most of my weekly return journey between Leeds and Kings Cross - I'm mostly listening to streamed audio and I only usually drop off about 3 times on my route until south of Stevenage where there starts to be far too much tunnel. Doncaster seems to be dreadful for coverage though - I can always tell when we're approaching.
I went a little mad before Christmas. It was at home, tethering to a range of devices - and that included Netflix moves at around 3GB or more each. I get anything from 15-26Mbps on Three (it does fluctuate quite a bit, sadly) but that's still a lot more than my ADSL that tops out at 6.4Mbps.
I even managed to use a few gigabytes in Sweden over Christmas, which thanks to Feel at Home cost me absolutely nothing!
4G will be activated for Three users soon. The original date was 16th Jan, but it may have been put back a bit - but certainly by March/April, everyone will have access to it (assuming they have a 4G device).
In July or so, Three will begin using its 800MHz spectrum and that should be massive news. At this frequency, people will stand a far better chance of getting coverage in rural areas, as well as indoors. EE is still to roll out 800MHz, while Vodafone and O2 are only seeking to use it for rural areas.
I even managed to use a few gigabytes in Sweden over Christmas, which thanks to Feel at Home cost me absolutely nothing!
4G will be activated for Three users soon. The original date was 16th Jan, but it may have been put back a bit - but certainly by March/April, everyone will have access to it (assuming they have a 4G device).
In July or so, Three will begin using its 800MHz spectrum and that should be massive news. At this frequency, people will stand a far better chance of getting coverage in rural areas, as well as indoors. EE is still to roll out 800MHz, while Vodafone and O2 are only seeking to use it for rural areas.
I use in excess of 100GB a month on my Three plan. Get speeds of up to 23Mbps in my area, can drop as low as 3Mbps on a slow night though.
Was thinking you're rather informed. Now I've just realised you're a fellow DS poster
WelshBluebird
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I wonder if the 800Mhz frequency is better at getting into a Voyager? Or would that be killed too (as the current 2100Mhz 3G signals are).
Always funny to see someone on another forum you are on!
Was thinking you're rather informed. Now I've just realised you're a fellow DS poster
Always funny to see someone on another forum you are on!
Only useful to someone like RJ who might have found a ticket combination that allows free use of Eurostar.
O2 and Vodafone are working together on rolling out 4G, although O2 paid less for its 4G licence in return for promising to cover certain areas that other operators might be in less of a rush to do.
In theory, O2 will bring 4G to more rural areas - although I suspect EE will always be close, given its head start.
And an awful lot of work is being done in the background, which isn't just upgrading sites (some easier than others; some need new antennas for the new frequencies, some need new cabinets, some need lots of new equipment while others that are already quite new will be more or less just a software update) but also upgrading the backend.. so that might mean installing much more capacity (fibre) to cope with the increased data traffic.
In fact, the backend is probably the bigger bit of the upgrading - and that will be done by BT or Virgin, and once complete could allow massive chunks of the country to be switched on in one go.
As such, I think that looking at coverage maps today is not indicative of where any operator will be in a year or two.
Three's coverage map (not yet live to more than a handful of people on a trial) is the worst of all, but many people around the UK have seen Three 4G on a network scan - so you can probably expect the rollout to be quite fast and steady during 2014.
800MHz should really make a difference for rail users, but I'm not sure about the attenuation on rolling stock with the solar reflecting film on the glass, like the Voyagers. I guess we'll have to wait and see, or perhaps contact someone that might know - such as the company that makes the film?
Don't think so. 2G already hit it's technical limitations in most parts of western europe, while 3G suffers from the same sort of problems. 4G has no limitation to subscribers per cell - that's why all equipment that's due to be replaced for age reasons is going to be 4G.
EE is a long way ahead on its upgrade work, and it's not just to add 4G. Of course that's what EE is putting in all of its press releases, as well as the increasing tally of towns and cities covered (160 as it stands) with 4G.
As it upgrades the network, it is getting rid of its legacy 2G sites and upgrading the backhaul at the same time. Some 3G sites were on very slow connections, so were speed capped as a result. Once upgraded, they'll be able to offer DC-HSPA support so even non-4G users will see a massive improvement. DC-HSPA can offer speeds of upto 43.2Mbps, and in the 'real world' I've seen speed tests of just over 30. That's 3G, not 4G!
Personally, my max is 26MBps and that's bloody impressive. And I've had over 20Mbps on a moving train, which is even more impressive!
As it upgrades the network, it is getting rid of its legacy 2G sites and upgrading the backhaul at the same time. Some 3G sites were on very slow connections, so were speed capped as a result. Once upgraded, they'll be able to offer DC-HSPA support so even non-4G users will see a massive improvement. DC-HSPA can offer speeds of upto 43.2Mbps, and in the 'real world' I've seen speed tests of just over 30. That's 3G, not 4G!
Personally, my max is 26MBps and that's bloody impressive. And I've had over 20Mbps on a moving train, which is even more impressive!
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