This is the third article this week from TelecomsTech about UK operator Three and its rapid push to climb out of the position of the country’s smallest mobile network.
Our recent coverage is warranted. On Tuesday we reported a new partnership with the UK’s largest network, EE, to share infrastructure and invest £1 billion jointly into future network improvements. On Wednesday we covered Three’s unexpected inclusion on a letter to government ministers calling for telecoms regulatory reform to give Ofcom stronger powers to make decisions and prevent legal delays from other operators.
Today the focus is on another strategic partnership — this time between Three and Virgin Media’s business division.
Under a five-year agreement announced yesterday, Three will use Virgin Media Business’s advanced optical infrastructure to accelerate and strengthen its 4G rollout. The deal improves connectivity between Three’s 15 aggregation sites, which are already supported via Virgin Media Business through MBNL, delivering greater speed and capacity across the network.
The agreement includes a future-proofed 300Gb capacity upgrade to the backhaul network. This additional capacity is designed to accommodate rising mobile-data demand as more customers rely on smartphones and tablets to complete work, stream content and run increasingly data-intensive apps while on the move.
George Wareing, Sales Director at Virgin Media Business, said: “In today’s hectic world, people increasingly demand more from their mobile devices. Far from just making calls, users now expect to browse the web, stream video and access cloud services on the go. Meeting these needs and connecting people reliably to anything at any time is a major challenge for mobile operators.
“Three recognises this challenge and is taking steps to secure future services. Through our network they can meet customer expectations and deliver fast, consistent connections.”
Bryn Jones, Three’s Chief Technical Officer, commented: “Instant browsing and buffering-free video streaming have become baseline expectations for many customers when choosing a provider.
“With the new high-capacity backhaul network supplied by Virgin Media Business, we are ready to welcome even more customers to Three. No matter where they are, our customers will receive the best possible 4G experience.”
Real-world tests cited in recent coverage show download speeds of around 67 Mbps and uploads of about 15 Mbps on Three’s mobile network. For customers comparing fixed and mobile broadband, Three’s unlimited data and tethering plans start at £17.50 per month, undercutting some of Virgin’s fixed-fibre packages while offering higher mobile throughput in those tests.
For context, Virgin’s consumer fibre bundles referenced were priced at £25 per month for a 30 Mbps package and £30 per month for a 60 Mbps upgrade at the time of reporting. These price and performance comparisons will prompt many consumers to weigh the convenience and mobility of a fast mobile connection against the stability and shared bandwidth advantages of a fixed home broadband service.
A Virgin Media Business spokesperson explained their view on the relationship between fixed and mobile services:
“We believe that fixed and mobile broadband are complementary — keeping people connected inside and outside the home. Superfast fibre broadband proves especially valuable when multiple people in a household are online at the same time, connecting many devices and streaming large amounts of data. That way, children can do homework or download music while parents browse or stream the latest films.”