VodafoneThree start 1400MHz L-Band retune

For those who have been keeping up with spectrum licensing in the UK, you will know that in August 2025, several license changes occurred¹.

Prior to 01/08/2025:

• 1452MHz - 1472MHz -> Licensed by Vodafone
• 1472MHz - 1492MHz -> Licensed by Three

Now:

• 1452MHz - 1472MHz -> Licensed by VMO2 & Vodafone
• 1472MHz - 1492MHz -> Licensed by Vodafone & Three

With a view that from September 2027, the lower chunk (1452-1472) will be licensed by VMO2 exclusively.

So why am I mentioning all this?

This week I noticed that Vodafone have started using what was previously Three’s allocation of B32 on some sites in Cardiff.

For instance, a Q4 2024 Ericsson swap eNB 22402 is now broadcasting EARFCN 10220, previously the site was broadcasting EARFCN 10020.

Meanwhile, more recent vendor swaps, such as eNB 23239 are still using Vodafone’s old EARFCN 10020, probably due to an old config when the site was commissioned. I imagine this will be corrected in the next few weeks.

Three UK sites in the area are still using EARFCN 10220 - which is causing the channel quality to be quite poor for the Vodafone sites that have been re-tuned, as can be seen in my screenshot. As the merger progresses, small issues like this will be ironed out.

Now all that is left to do is to keep an eye out for O2 B32!

References

#