4G will be coming to at least two Island towns following the installation of new telecommunication masts last month, with the network providers Three and Vodafone confirming their rollout plans to Island Echo.
In an area where 3G signal is unreliable, the news of 4G being installed on the Island has come as a shock to many, however a welcome surprise which will improve the Island’s mobile infrastructure.
Speaking to Island Echo yesterday, a spokesperson for Three has confirmed that customers in the Newport and Shanklin areas will be able to receive a 4G service at no additional cost. Although no specific date can be given at the moment, it is hoped the roll out will be completed by the end of the year with a 4G service also planned for Ryde. At current, Three provide a high-speed 3G service in the majority of areas across the Isle of Wight.
Meanwhile, Vodafone have confirmed that their 4G service is beginning to be switched on and customers should now be able to receive the 4G service in Newport and Shanklin and potentially other areas such as Cowes, however the service comes at an additional cost.
Controversially, network coverage shows that 4G nor 3G will be hitting Newport Town or the Carisbrooke estate, despite local residents and businesses fighting for improvements to the town’s mobile signal and having been promised for a number of years an improved service in the area.
A spokesperson for Vodafone UK said:
“This is part of the £1 billion that we are spending on our UK network and services this year alone as we aim to bring voice and data coverage to 98% of the UK population.
“This activity will include improvements to our 3G coverage as well as bringing our 4G service to the island”.
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With the launch of the 4G services, the new masts maybe disrupt Freeview TV signals for some households. This is because some 4G signals operate at 800 MHz; adjacent to the frequencies used by Freeview.
TVs and set-top boxes that receive Freeview can fail to block the 4G signals causing interference such as a loss of sound, blocky images or loss of some or all channels. The good news is there’s help available. at800‘s role is to make sure viewers can still watch Freeview, or are offered a suitable alternative as 4G at 800 MHz services go live – at no cost to viewers.
Ben Roome, CEO of at800 said:
“New 4G mobile masts are bringing mobile broadband to Newport and Shanklin, but they do have the potential to disrupt TV reception for some households. We’re already helping viewers in the area and continue to offer support. We want to ensure that people know it’s our role to fix any disruption to Freeview due to 4G at 800 MHz and that there’s no charge for our support.”
With more 4G masts due to go live, any viewers who experience new disruption to Freeview should contact at800 on 0333 31 31 800 or visit www.at800.tv.
If a viewer lives in a house with its own aerial, does not have satellite or cable television and 4G at 800 MHz is diagnosed as causing disruption to Freeview, at800 will restore their television service to its previous quality.
If at800 believes disruption to Freeview is due to 4G at 800 MHz, it will arrange for an accredited installer to visit the viewer’s home, check the cause and fit an approved filter to the TV system, at no cost to the viewer. In most cases, disruption will be fixed by an at800 filter.
