Vodafone tackles urban 5G challenges with Ericsson’s compact antennas

Vodafone has begun deploying Ericsson's innovative Interleaved AIR 3218 antennas to boost 5G network performance, capacity, and coverage without increasing the footprint of existing antenna installations.

The scarcity of suitable rooftop locations for additional 5G antennas has been a major hurdle in Germany's urban areas. Many available rooftop sites fail to meet the static requirements of network planners, while current LTE mast locations often lack space for extra 5G...

10 July 2024 | 5G

Vodafone and Meta collaborate on European network optimisation

Vodafone and Meta have joined forces to tackle network congestion and improve mobile user experience across Europe. The collaboration, which began in June, has already been implemented in eleven European markets.

The initiative aims to free up network capacity for all mobile customers, with a particular focus on enhancing the viewing experience of high-quality short videos. This development comes at a time when video content consumption on mobile devices continues to surge,...

9 July 2024 | 5G

Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 extend network sharing

Vodafone UK and Virgin Media O2 have announced a landmark agreement to extend and enhance their mobile network sharing arrangement for over a decade.

The agreement, which builds upon the existing partnership between the two telecom giants, is largely independent of the proposed merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK. However, should the merger receive regulatory approval, the deal includes provisions for Virgin Media O2 to acquire spectrum from the newly formed entity, dubbed...

3 July 2024 | 5G

Vodafone Business Ireland and RingCentral unveil solution to facilitate collaboration across devices

Vodafone Business Ireland and RingCentral, a provider of AI-driven cloud business communications, contact centre, video and hybrid event solutions, have launched of Vodafone Business UC with RingCentral to organizations of all sizes in Ireland.

Already accessible in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and the UK, this solution enables businesses to facilitate seamless communication and collaboration for their workforces from virtually any device, anywhere, at any time. With this...

22 May 2024 | Digital Transformation

CMA launches in-depth probe into Vodafone-Three UK merger

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed it will conduct an in-depth Phase 2 investigation into the proposed merger between mobile operators Vodafone and Three. 

The competition watchdog had previously expressed concerns that the £11 billion ($13.92 billion) deal could lead to higher prices for consumers and reduced investment in Britain's mobile networks.

Last month, the CMA told Vodafone and Three they had five working days to respond with...

4 April 2024 | 5G

Nokia and Vodafone test latency-busting technology

A new internet standard called L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable throughput) has been successfully tested by Vodafone and Nokia Bell Labs.

In tests simulating a heavily congested fibre-to-the-home broadband connection over Wi-Fi, the companies reduced latency from 550 milliseconds to just 12 milliseconds. With an ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi, the latency dropped even further to only 1.05 milliseconds.

Latency over 100ms can cause noticeable lags during...

3 April 2024 | Broadband

CMA raises concerns about proposed Vodafone-Three merger

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed concerns over the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, two of the UK's four major mobile network operators.

The regulator launched its initial Phase 1 investigation in January after the two companies announced a joint venture agreement last year that would combine their 27 million customers under a single network provider.

The CMA's 40-day Phase 1 review aimed to identify whether the deal could lead to a...

22 March 2024 | 5G

Vodafone UK completes 3G shutdown to enhance 4G/5G services

Vodafone UK has followed EE's announcement this week by officially shutting down its 3G mobile network nationwide. This transition allows for the repurposing of related radio frequencies to bolster the faster 4G and 5G services.

While Vodafone claims the switch-off is complete as of this week, it slightly missed its initial target of finishing by the end of January 2024. Additionally, a "small number of locations" with "UK security significance" and some remote rural areas will...

28 February 2024 | 5G

GSMA Open Gateway unlocks mobile network capabilities for developers

A new collaboration between the world's leading mobile operators will accelerate innovation across industries from finance and retail to transportation, healthcare, and beyond. The GSMA Open Gateway initiative provides developers simplified access to core network capabilities via open application programming interfaces (APIs).

Initially focused on security, new APIs for number verification and SIM swap detection are being implemented by operator groups across 42 countries so far....

23 February 2024 | 5G

Vodafone Romania awards Ericsson major 5G RAN contract

Vodafone Romania has selected Ericsson as a key partner to upgrade its radio access network (RAN) infrastructure and roll out 5G technology across the country.

The six-year agreement will see Ericsson provide 5G RAN products and solutions to boost network speeds, reduce latency, and improve reliability for Vodafone customers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ericsson will serve as Vodafone Romania's primary 5G RAN partner, deploying its cutting-edge technology to...

12 February 2024 | 5G