The end of O2 exclusivity promises better coverage for iPhone users

The expansion of networks offering the iPhone is great news for owners of the hot handset, who have been complaining that the weakest aspect of the device is its telephony.

One issue has been the lack of UK coverage with the O2 network. Although there had been much anecdotal evidence, a report  by UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, in July confirmed what many had suspected – that O2's 3G coverage is rather patchy.

'I was with a friend in the O2 Centre in London last year, and the signal level was so low my iPhone was dropping calls,' said Tracy Van Dal, a London mother of two, who said that a friend and fellow iPhone user was with her and had exactly the same problems.

'It's not exactly what you expect when you're actually making a call from the O2 mothership,' she added.

O2's coverage has improved since and was it not alone amongst the UK networks.

Ofcom published its first maps, which compare the 3G coverage offered by 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Virgin and Vodaphone.

Networks are continually being upgraded, according to their operators, so the maps will no doubt be outdated, but there are still large areas in the UK, which are poorly served or not at all.

Last July there were large areas of northern England, east Anglia, the south west, and Scotland, Wales and northern Ireland that were not covered by O2’s 3G network, meaning that outside major urban areas in the UK, you are still unlikely to be able to use O2’s 3G network if you are an iPhone or Palm Pre owner.

The shaded areas on the Ofcom maps ‘indicate areas where customers have the possibility of making and receiving a call outside over a 3G network (but with no guarantee of being able to do so). They do not indicate areas where customers are able to access higher data rate services,’ according to Ofcom.

The regulator, which produced the maps to illustrate the general progress of each operator in providing a national 3G network, was careful to emphasise that the maps did not indicate the ‘quality of depth of coverage’ within the highlighted areas. It also acknowledged that the maps were not as detailed or as up to date as coverage maps published by network operators.

The most widespread 3G coverage was provided by the 3 network, according to Ofcom’s maps, but Apple’s decision to offer the iPhone exclusively through O2 means that iPhone owners would have to unlock their handsets to take advantage of the coverage. That is until 3 offers an iPhone, which it said it expects to do 'next year.'

Under the terms of their 3G licences, UK network operators were obliged to make 3G available to 80% of the population, which all five have done. There is, however, nothing in their contracts to force them to provide comprehensive geographical coverage.

‘The intrinsic nature of cellular technology makes it extremely difficult to provide seamless, 100% coverage across the country,’ said Ofcom.