O2 4G Arrives In Belfast And Lisburn

O2 4G is now available in Northern Ireland, with LTE coverage extending to the capital, Belfast, and the town of Lisburn as part of a £15 million investment by the operator into its cellular infrastructure in the country.

This has funded not only the rollout of 4G, but also the modernisation of O2’s 2G and 3G networks, and the company has pledged a further £5 million to bring LTE to other parts of Northern Ireland, including Derry, by the end of 2014.

EE has been providing 4G coverage to Northern Ireland for some time, but local leaders claim the arrival of O2’s competing service will bring a range of benefits to local businesses.

O2 4G Belfast

“The arrival of O2 4G marks another significant step forward for Belfast and Lisburn as the network promises to deliver many positive benefits to both businesses and smartphone users,” says Arlene Foster from the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment.

O2 says its 4G network now covers a third of the UK population and the company claims to have secured more than one million LTE customers since it launched the service last August.

The operator won two 10MHz chunks of 800 MHz spectrum at the Ofcom auction last year, one of them requiring it to provide a mobile broadband service to 98 percent of the UK population and at least 95 percent of the populations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

“I’m delighted that O2 4G has arrived in Northern Ireland,” says Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer of Telefonica UK. “As we continue to roll out 4G across Northern Ireland, we are also upgrading our 2G and 3G networks, so every O2 customer will have an even better experience.”

Businesses in Northern Ireland already benefit from widespread superfast broadband coverage with 90 percent of all phone lines in the region connected to a fibre cabinet.

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