EE switches on 4G 800MHz frequency

Excellent news, will mean EE's 4G signal will be able to penetrate further inside buildings at sites where 800MHz is available.

Today, EE has also switched on its low frequency 800MHz spectrum on 700 sites across the country, filling in 5,000 square kilometres of 4G not spots overnight and improving indoor signal in 500,000 homes. Parts of Shropshire, Somerset, Snowdonia, Oban, Glasgow, Berkshire and Derbyshire are among those getting 4G for the first time thanks to the switch on. Another 3,000 sites will be equipped with the low frequency spectrum before the end of 2017.

http://newsroom.ee.co.uk/ee-calls-on-industry-to-get...

Edited by deleted (Wed 23-Nov-16 11:54:26)

More info here, though EE are now saying 800MHz will go live on 1st Dec:

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/4G-and-mobile-data/Imp...

Edited by deleted (Wed 23-Nov-16 13:00:23)

If their data was not so costly and measly I would switch to them.

They can't complete with three at the moment on that at least.

In reply to a post by 23Prince:

If their data was not so costly and measly I would switch to them.
They can't complete with three at the moment on that at least.

Depends how much you need, but 20GB for £15.99 is a deal this week (black friday) on a Voice service, and last week (deal now ended) there was a data SIM of 32GB/m for £14.50. This is the the time of the year for deals.

wish they would enable 4G calling on my Microsoft Lumia 650 (wifi calling is enabled) mite have to give them a call to remove the blackberry BIS (even though it should not matter)

the Lumia 650 and factory windows 10 sold phones natively supports VoLTE and wifi calling out of the box (like iphone) all they need to do is update the profile (950 XL 4G calling works currently)

unless i need EE flashed onto the 650 but should not need to (and i have to factory reset)

I've had no issues with getting data at a decent price. Yes 3 might be a fiver less but nothing staggeringly different.

Given my experience on 3 I'd never touch them again.

In reply to a post by 23Prince:

If their data was not so costly and measly I would switch to them.

They can't complete with three at the moment on that at least.

I think they're price quiet reasonably, actually I don't see much difference between EE and 3's pricing....

Based on my experience though, both networks are worlds apart for performance....

3's 4G and even 3G in some area's sucks, EE seems to kick booty...

call quality on EE also much better than 3's.... however I can't say this is the same everywhere in the UK but certainly has been the case for most the south east, London (central), Birmingham (both central and south urban)

Be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

Used to see 800mhz in rural locations when 1800mhz dropped. Phone hasn't connected to it for nearly 2 weeks now.

EE's coverage checker should start updating from tomorrow with increased coverage at 800mhz live sites.

In reply to a post by wolvesmad:

Used to see 800mhz in rural locations when 1800mhz dropped. Phone hasn't connected to it for nearly 2 weeks now.

How did you know which it was on please?

It seems my Sony Xperia Z3 won't be able to receive it anyway, but the contract is up in March which in my life-span is very soon! I'm wondering whether to swap the handset, and will have to change the existing deal anyway as so far as I know the Xperia purchase loading doesn't drop out of the billing.

Use G Net track lite if you've got Android.

Keep an eye on the Cell ID -

800mhz (band 20) - Cell ID's 12,13,14
1800MHz (band 3) - Cell IDs 0, 1, 2
2600MHz (band 7) - Cell IDs 6, 7, 8

Edited by wolvesmad (Wed 30-Nov-16 12:13:04)

Neat! Brilliant. Thanks. Nice little app.

Except thousands of people will now need to shell out on filters to maintain TV reception. Don't give me the [censored] that you can get a free filter, because if you have the audacity to install a distribution amplifier then the free filters are useless and if you are unlucky to need a Ch60 filter then that is going to cost you £80 and is after scouring the internet to find someone to sell me one to a DIY'er to fit myself. Expect to pay well over £100 if you need to get a trades-person in to do it for you.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Neat! Brilliant. Thanks. Nice little app.

With the pro version, a charging cable for the car and a car holder, you can create some nifty maps of coverage of your own local area and anywhere you go. Very impressive app.

That sounds rather geeky and pointless .

Well no sign of it so far today. EE haven't flicked the switch yet.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

That sounds rather geeky and pointless .

No worse than tracking DSLstats IMHO <vbg>

Have a look at GNetTrack website for some example maps. Pretty insane to be honest.

In reply to a post by wolvesmad:

Well no sign of it so far today. EE haven't flicked the switch yet.

I suspect most of the country won't see anything until Feb/March at the earliest. The Press Release last week said they were starting on 1st Dec.

In reply to a post by wolvesmad:

Use G Net track lite if you've got Android.

Keep an eye on the Cell ID -

800mhz (band 20) - Cell ID's 12,13,14
1800MHz (band 3) - Cell IDs 0, 1, 2
2600MHz (band 7) - Cell IDs 6, 7, 8

Thanks for that.

While at home I seem to be able to drift between cell ID's 0 and 1 on the same eNodeB. When I went out earlier, I found it included cell ID's 2, 7 and 8 on the same eNodeB.

In reply to a post by WWWombat:

While at home I seem to be able to drift between cell ID's 0 and 1 on the same eNodeB. When I went out earlier, I found it included cell ID's 2, 7 and 8 on the same eNodeB.

If you're picking up band 7 (2600) then that's probably a "high capacity" area for EE, so they've added the band 7 capacity to the band 3. I'm not expecting any band 20 / 800 in my town, as we have a very good band 3 / 1800 service and really high speeds; and our town centre is bathed in band 7 / 2600 - giving 100+ mbps speeds on a CA device.

I'm hoping in other areas where indoor signal is poor that Band 20 will be rolled out and solve the issue. Won't expect anything until the spring though.

cellid start digit is what to look for?

That means I have glorious 2600 and cellid 6 (this is indoors also)

Edited by Chrysalis (Sat 03-Dec-16 11:55:20)

Thanks for that, wolves.

Now that OfCom have dropped the mast map, does anyone know how to
a) Find masts' locations
b) See output frequencies for masts in the UK?

The old one was useless anyway as it was so outdated.

I use mastdata.com but not sure how upto date that is or where the data comes from.

Thanks, UKH - looks just like the old OfCom map but better than nothing! I suspect fairly 'out-of-date' - seems to pre-date EE's absorption of Orange and T-M

In London there's some new ones on there which are less than a year old.

There have been issues with account provisioning according to sources inside EE.

The areas I have seen 800mhz previously, I haven't had a sniff of for over 2 weeks.

3CA is also appearing in areas now too. Wembley Stadium being an example.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

If you're picking up band 7 (2600) then that's probably a "high capacity" area for EE, so they've added the band 7 capacity to the band 3.

Does that bear any relation to where they've implemented their "double speed" or "4G+" areas? The coverage maps always suggested that such areas were based on a smaller number of masts, so I always assumed it was extra frequencies + carrier aggregation that achieved those.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

I'm not expecting any band 20 / 800 in my town, as we have a very good band 3 / 1800 service and really high speeds; and our town centre is bathed in band 7 / 2600 - giving 100+ mbps speeds on a CA device.

Ironically, I wonder if the opposite is true. The band 20/800 areas will propagate a long distance, but will presumably have to start from a mast with good backhaul ... so likely to be one of their "better" masts. The centre of an 800 coverage zone is likely to be bettered by 1800/2600 coverage ... as the 800 is really only needed in the outer zones.

On the other hand, a "better" 800 mast is likely to be one that gets long-distance coverage, which might be the opposite of a "good backhaul", town-based, mast.

Double speed is 20Mhz of 1800Mhz 4G spectrum - compared to 10Mhz of 1800mhz which is normal 4G spectrum for EE.

4G+ is generally 1800Mhz + 2600Mhz combined.

Does the line

Customers will need a 4G Calling-capable phone to use the new low frequency signal. 4G Calling is available on monthly SIM and handset plans, on the majority of EE�s device range.

mean that 800MHz will only wok on Handsets with EE ROMs? I'm asking as I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G920F - not sold by EE) an I have yest to see any improvement in 4G coverage despite the coverage checker being updated to show 4 out of 5 bars of 4G for my locality. I Understand that VOLTE will not work but I was hoping for 4G data at the least.

If you can make EE VoLTE calls on your S6 then it should be able to pick up the new 800mhz frequency. Otherwise you will need to install the EE rom on it:

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/SM-G920F...

Do you get 4G at all on that phone?

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Do you get 4G at all on that phone?

The SM-G920F supports all the relevant LTE bands for the UK, 3,7,20 so should work fine if the service is purchased.

Single and DoubleSpeed are marketing topics for a speed throttle on the account. 4G+ is where additional capacity is deployed, and you need a 4G+ (Carrier Aggregation) capable handset to use. For iPhones this is the 6s or later.

Ah, but that wasn't the question I was asking. I was wondering if by any chance he doesn't have a 4G SIM in it. But put less bluntly.

As you know, the capability of the phone is irrelevant if it doesn't have a suitable SIM.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Ah, but that wasn't the question I was asking. I was wondering if by any chance he doesn't have a 4G SIM in it. But put less bluntly.As you know, the capability of the phone is irrelevant if it doesn't have a suitable SIM.

Agreed. Generally its not the SIM not permitting but the tarrif / price plan selected. The big 4 physical networks (Vodafone, O2, EE, Three) all now include 4G but those on legacy brands (e.g. Orange or T-Mobile) or are on virtual networks (Virgin Mobile, ASDA etc) often may not include 4G. Often its to make it cheaper!

I currently get 4G in certain areas (1600MHz) and have seen 4G+ in the notification bar occasionally however I have yet to see any improvement since the 800MHz switch on. The EE web site coverage checker has gone from no 4G in my locality to 4 out of 5 bars in the last week or so.
The phone i indeed capable of utilising the 800MHz frequencies, and I'm aware only S6's with the EE rom can utilise VoLTE. However I was hoping that I would at least be able to use 4G data on the 800MHz band.
Unfortunately I cant flash the EE rom as it is an older version than the one I'm currently running, and Samsung doesn't allow flashing of older versions.

There is talk on other forums that the 800 switch on is delayed, but one thing is confirmed by EE staff on EE's forum - you WILL need VoLTE support on your phone before you can connect to 800. VoLTE works on all EE's frequencies, so if you don't have it today on 1800 or 2600 then you won't be able to connect to 800.

This is because EE cannot provide a signal to a phone that cannot be used to make a phone call. Can you imagine the confusion?

Data only devices such as tablets or MiFi type units may be able to connect.

I think the rollout of 800 has only just started and so it will be a few months before most people see any difference on mo

You can check here if 4G800 is enabled for your area by going to this URL and putting your postcode at the end (no spaces). Look for strength of 1 or above on 4G800. Strength of 0 indicates its not live yet.

http://maps.ee.co.uk/all?brand=ee&tab=newajaxcoverag...

Edited by deleted (Sun 18-Dec-16 14:02:02)

JScript runtime error?

Works fine here, example URL:

http://maps.ee.co.uk/all?brand=ee&tab=newajaxcoverag...

Screenshot:
https://s27.postimg.org/xngr9xumr/Capture.jpg

Works in Chrome, not IE11.

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Works in Chrome, not IE11.

Odd, Edge and IE want to download a file, Firefox just shows the text output.

But this isn't really something that should be public...

In reply to a post by jchamier:

In reply to a post by RobertoS:

Works in Chrome, not IE11.

Odd, Edge and IE want to download a file, Firefox just shows the text output.

But this isn't really something that should be public...

Correct, it should only display a text output. I only use Chrome so can't speak for other Browser results.

As for this being available to Joe Public, not sure what loss this would cause to EE, it's just their coverage checkers result in more technical detail.

In reply to a post by baby_frogmella:

Correct, it should only display a text output. I only use Chrome so can't speak for other Browser results.

As for this being available to Joe Public, not sure what loss this would cause to EE, it's just their coverage checkers result in more technical detail.

No loss, just complaints and tech support queries. I assume the MIME-TYPE is not set correctly for IE (and Edge). Which is weird given it works in Chrome and Firefox and Apple Safari.

Thisi is my area:-

var tmpCoverageResponse = {"gotSuggestions": false, "gotSingleGeo" : true, "suggestions" : [], "singleGeo" : {"title":"rm65bt","lat":"51.579468","lng":"0.12547584"}, "layers" : [ {"type" : "2G", "strength" : "4", "selected" : true} , {"type" : "3G", "strength" : "4", "selected" : false} , {"type" : "4G800", "strength" : "0", "selected" : false} , {"type" : "4G1800", "strength" : "4", "selected" : false , "highspeed4g" : true}, {"type" : "4G2600", "strength" : "3", "selected" : false} , {"type" : "4GPlus", "strength" : "3", "selected" : false}] , "lastUpdated" : "13 December 2016 12:00 AM", "paths" : { "layer2g":"/geowebcache/service/gmaps", "layer3g":"/geowebcache/service/gmaps", "layer4g":"/geowebcache/service/gmaps" } };
updateMobileCoverage();

Does this mean my EE 800 is on?

In reply to a post by athegn:

Does this mean my EE 800 is on?

"type" : "4G800", "strength" : "0"

No. Strength 0 pretty much means no 800 in your area.

Same as mine, but my normal 4G1800 is really good here and we have 4G2600 in town as well. Your postcode has good strength (4 out of 5) on 4G1800 and 3 out of 5 on 4G2600.

Edited by jchamier (Wed 21-Dec-16 19:10:30)