[DBMandrake]

Ok, what exactly is going on here ?

http://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/News/448015/torange_to_build_new_network.html

Doesn't make sense given the commitments that T-Orange have made to continue their network share with 3 - why would they now turn around and build a brand new network instead of merging the T-Mobile and Orange networks, except to pull a fast one on 3 ?

Or would this only amount to the installation of all new equipment throughout existing T-Mobile / Orange physical sites ? That seems a bit more reasonable, as long as 3 are not squeezed out, although how they could finance such a huge roll out during a recession when they only merged in the first place due to them (or T-Mobile at least) being in financial trouble...

Something seems fishy...

[DBMandrake]

Another point - why even think about building a brand new network from scratch now, when 900Mhz 3G is on the horizon and almost certainly getting the go ahead in August?

Nobody knows what frequencies they will have available until the spectrum negotiations/auction have occurred, and that can't happen until after the ratification in August.

Surely it is prudent for them to wait until the outcome of that is known, so that if they do build a new network from scratch, they can include 900Mhz 3G in their plans...

[Ben]

I'm more intrigued by "covering 2G, 3G and 4H" and "to cover 900Mhz-26000Mhz bandwidths".

Eh? Perhaps it's just the worst article ever ;)

Intriguing though - will give it a proper read later when I'm in a better mood to look through the typos!

[Ben]

Ok, managed to see through the errors.

It's telling that neither Orange nor T-Mobile have given any real insight into the allegations, other than to say that major work on integrating the two networks together will be needed anyway. Does this mean essentially replacing the entire network's worth of kit with the latest and greatest? Maybe; but whatever happens they're going to be almost entirely limited to their existing stock of sites so it's not like they'd ever be truly starting from scratch. As the article mentions, equipment isn't the biggest cost, capacity is.

I'm a bit of a fan of 'new (https://talk3g.co.uk/entry.php?34-New)'. I can certainly see the appeal of replacing a fragmented network with a new, more efficient one if it'll put T-Orange in a strong competitive position for the future. I'm assuming that this new equipment would support pretty much anything in pretty much any band, allowing them to respond rapidly to regulatory changes.

At the end of the day, though, I'd be surprised if the number of customers with 3G capable handsets is even above 50% yet... I was shocked when a friend of mine recently upgraded their handset with Vodafone and ended up with 2G kit. Someone else I knew found that surprising, too, until they realised that their own handset doesn't support 3G either! Such a high requirement for legacy support will surely hamper any major push for modernisation.

That any mobile phone is still produced without 3G is a glaring admission, in my eyes, that 3G as it currently exists is a complementary technology to 2G and not its replacement. Perhaps T-Orange can see LTE changing this, and want to prepare... time will tell.