This follows earlier 3G switch-offs in parts of England. The operator plans to close its entire 3G network by the end of 2025, in line with a 2021 government and industry agreement.

Virgin Media O2’s 3G network was launched more than 20 years ago but now accounts for less than two per cent of total data traffic. Reallocating spectrum to 4G and 5G will support faster data speeds, higher quality voice calls, and improved reliability, the company said. Some 3G spectrum has already been repurposed for 5G, with upgraded sites live in Durham and further rollouts planned in the coming months.

Virgin Media O2 has also upgraded masts across Scotland, including more than 180 sites under the Shared Rural Network programme. The company invests around £2 million per day to meet rising demand for data.

Jeanie York, Virgin Media O2’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “3G will soon be replaced by faster, more reliable, and more energy-efficient 4G and 5G networks. We have already withdrawn 3G in several UK locations, and in November we’ll be turning our attention to large areas of Scotland.”

The switch-off will also affect MVNOs such as Tesco Mobile and giffgaff..

Earlier this year, Virgin Media O2 strengthened its spectrum position with a £343m acquisition of 78.8 MHz, bringing its total holding to around 30% of the UK market.

The company first announced its 3G retirement plans two years ago. It says 4G now covers 99 per cent of the UK population, while 5G availability has reached 77 per cent.

The rollout now covers more than 70 per cent of the population, reaching around 49 million people, and is available to customers at no additional cost with a 5G SA-compatible device and SIM.

Customers are expected to see improved reliability, higher speeds and lower latency compared to non-Standalone services, which still depend partly on 4G infrastructure.

Virgin Media O2 says its 5G SA network delivers at least 90 per cent outdoor coverage.

Virgin Media O2’s SA network is built on a cloud-based 5G core, that can support next-generation applications such as autonomous transport, remote healthcare and industrial automation. The operator launched SA for enterprise customers earlier this year.

Chief Technology Officer Jeanie York said Virgin Media O2 is investing around £2m a day in its network: “By expanding our 5G Standalone network to 500 towns and cities and 70 per cent of the population, we are future-proofing our network and paving the way for exciting customer-led innovations that lie ahead.”

The upgrades form part of Virgin Media O2’s £700m Mobile Transformation Plan for 2024. This includes wider 4G and 5G coverage, the deployment of small cells in dense areas, and targeted improvements on transport routes, at airports, and in stadiums.

Virgin Media O2 will acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum from Vodafone UK, which will bring its total holdings to about a third of UK mobile spectrum.

To minimise disruption, the company is offering free 4G-ready devices to vulnerable customers and discounted upgrades to others in the area who still rely on 3G technology. The network is  working with Age UK County Durham to ensure older and more vulnerable residents are informed and supported. Leaflets have been distributed to community venues, while the charity is using its website, social media, and home visits to raise awareness and help people prepare.

April 2 marks the start of the company’s 3G network switch-off, part of a nationwide initiative to enhance 4G and 5G connectivity.

Durham will be the first UK city to lose 3G service. From April 2, customers in the area without a 4G or 5G-capable device will no longer be able to access mobile data, although calls and texts will continue to work temporarily. These users will need to upgrade later in the year to maintain full service.

The company is also encouraging residents to recycle older devices through its O2 Recycle scheme, which offers cash incentives and ensures all phones are either reused, repaired, or responsibly recycled under its zero-landfill policy.

Durham has seen significant 4G and 5G upgrades over the past year, with further improvements planned for 2025. Virgin Media O2 says it will use the experience in Durham to inform the wider UK switch-off programme, working closely with organisations such as the Good Things Foundation to support vulnerable groups.

The nationwide retirement of 3G networks follows a 2021 agreement between the UK Government and all mobile operators to phase out the ageing technology. Virgin Media O2 says 3G now carries less than 3% of its network traffic. Decommissioning the network will free up spectrum for more efficient services, improving data speeds, streaming reliability, and call quality.

Customers of Virgin Media O2’s MVNOs—including Tesco Mobile and giffgaff—will also be affected and are being contacted directly. Tesco Mobile users can visit local stores for additional support.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said:
“Switching off 3G will be an important milestone in the evolution of our network, enabling us to focus our attention and investment on faster and more reliable 4G and 5G networks that will deliver improved services for our customers. By starting in just one location and putting careful monitoring in place, we’ll minimise disruption and ensure the success of this essential modernisation programme. Our priority is to provide support to those who need it most.”

Around £2 million every day will be spent on improving reliability, speed, and coverage to meet increasing demand, with mobile traffic having more than doubled in the past five years.

The investment is part of Virgin Media O2’s wider £2 billion commitment in 2025 to boost fixed and mobile services across the UK.

Chief Technology Officer Jeanie York, said: “Our Mobile Transformation Plan is a significant investment in the UK’s connectivity. By combining financial investment with technological innovation, we aim to ensure a reliable and high-performing network for our customers.”

VMO2’s big budget will boost 4G and 5G coverage in rural and coastal areas, deploying small cells in dense urban locations, and enhancing connectivity along transport routes such as railways, motorways, and airports. Satellite technology will be used to improve coverage in remote areas.

As part of the upgrade, Virgin Media O2 will integrate its mobile and fixed networks to improve efficiency and deployment speed.

Key areas for network improvements include:

Enhanced connectivity at stations and on trains, strengthened coverage along motorways and major routes, Increased deployment of small cells to boost capacity, satellite backhaul to address coverage gaps.distributed antenna systems to support high-traffic environments such as sports stadiums.

Vodafone, Three, and EE have already completed the switch-off, with O2 the last mobile network operator left to turn its 3G network off. 

The switch-off is expected to have minimal impact on most customers, as the vast majority already use 4G or 5G devices.  Virgin Media O2 is contacting customers in Durham who rely on 3G-only devices, advising them to upgrade to 4G-compatible SIMs and handsets to continue using mobile data services.

Virgin Media O2’s 3G network is more than 20 years old and now accounts for less than three per cent of total data usage. Following an industry-wide agreement in 2021, the switch-off enables mobile operators to focus resources on next-generation networks. In Durham, the company has upgraded 4G and 5G masts over the past year, with additional enhancements scheduled for 2025.

Free 4G devices are being offered vulnerable customers and there are discounted options for other affected users. Customers who choose not to upgrade will still be able to make voice calls and enjoy text messaging but will lose mobile data services after the 3G network is turned off.

The switch off is a pilot for Virgin Media O2’s broader 3G decommissioning programme. Insights from Durham will guide the rollout across other area. Virgin Media O2 is collaborating with consumer advocacy groups, including the Good Things Foundation, to ensure vulnerable individuals receive adequate support during the change.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, commented: “Switching off 3G is an important milestone in modernising our network. By reallocating spectrum to 4G and 5G, we can provide faster data speeds, more reliable streaming, and higher-quality voice calls. Our priority is to minimise disruption, particularly for those still using 3G devices, by providing tailored support and effective communication.”

Customers using MVNO’s on the Virgin Media O2 network, including Tesco Mobile and giffgaff, will also be contacted to prepare for the switch-off.

According to research by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, almost three million O2, Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff, Virgin and Sky Mobile customers don’t know if their phone is 4G or 5G ready, and more than 1.3 million say they still use a 3G handset.[2]

This means over four million consumers could lose access to mobile data if they don’t upgrade their devices or take the steps recommended by their providers.

Cellnex is a European and UK independent owner and operator of wireless telecoms infrastructure. It manages more than 138,000 sites in 12 European countries, mainly in Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland.

This new agreement ensures that Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 have access to Cellnex’s tower infrastructure across the UK and facilitates their network sharing under a separate network sharing agreement, which the parties recently renewed.

Gianluca Landoni, CEO of Cellnex UK, said, “The new agreement provides long-term visibility to both our industrial activity and financial investment.”

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone, said, “This partnership helps us expand and maintain our network. We look forward to continuing to work with the team at Cellnex.”

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said, “This partnership will help us upgrade our existing sites as we invest billions of pounds each year in our networks and services.”

Following our announcement last year that we’ll phase our 3G services in 2025, we’ve recently completed successful switch off trials. We remain on track to switch off the service next year – a move that will reduce our energy consumption and allow us to shift resources to more efficient 4G and 5G technologies. These newer networks are 10 times more energy efficient and the move will contribute to our wider plans to reach net-zero by 2040.

With this work progressing well, we’re now assessing the future of our older 2G network. Currently, less than 1% of our customers use 2G-only devices, and the network carries less than 0.1% of data traffic.

All mobile operators have agreed with Government to phase out 2G networks over the next decade. With future-proof networks now in place and ongoing investments helping to further expand them, next year we’ll start work to move almost all remaining traffic away from the 2G network.

2G will play an important role in carrying emergency calls in more remote areas

Unlike our 3G network, we won’t be turning 2G off completely. In fact, we expect to continue operating it for several years and it will play an important role in carrying emergency calls in more remote areas without 4G coverage. We’ll also use it to support data traffic for smart energy meters, contributing to the UK’s transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Last year alone, data use on our mobile network grew by more than a quarter as customers rely on our connectivity more than ever to stream, play, work, call, learn, bank and scroll all hours of the day. To meet this ever-growing need for connectivity, we are continuously investing in new infrastructure and evolving services for our customers.

We invest £2m every single day

We invest £2m every single day into our mobile networks and have already brought 5G to over half of the UK. Earlier this year, we also launched next-generation 5G Standalone services in cities across the country and will expand this to more locations in the months and years ahead, offering more customers higher bandwidth and lower latency connections than ever before to power the applications of the future.

This is all on top of having 4G available to 99% of the population already with continued work taking place to address rural blackspots through the Shared Rural Network Programme and boost capacity, which we did across hundreds of sites over the past year.

As our customers use these newer network technologies more intensively, we’re reviewing older networks and optimising where we can. This helps us deliver our ambitious environmental goals while ensuring optimal coverage and capacity for our customers.

less than 1% of our customers use 2G-only devices

By redirecting most ‘human’ traffic to newer, faster and more energy-efficient networks while reserving the older slower network for some data-light ‘machine’ communications, our customers will get the best possible experience whether they are calling, messaging or using data on the go.

For most customers, these changes will happen seamlessly in the background, and they won’t notice any change. However, a small proportion of customers will need to look out for messages from us telling them what they need to do – either because they’re using a very old device which won’t work on 4G, need a new SIM or because they need to turn on 4G calling.

We’re committed to helping those who may need additional support such as those very small proportion of customers still using older devices. We will be directly contacting any our customers who need to take action, guiding them through the process and explaining the steps they need to take.

As a technology business we’re forever changing and upgrading; standing still would mean failing our customers and not being prepared for future needs. From London and Cardiff to rural parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, we are committed to keeping our customers connected and delivering not only the services needed for today but ensuring we’re ready for the technologies of tomorrow too.

Uist is a group of six islands that are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, which is part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. North Uist and South Uist are two of the islands and are linked by causeways running via the isles of Benbecula and Grimsay.

The upgrades will cover a partial not-spot and provide residents, businesses, and visitors with faster and more reliable mobile connectivity. The new 4G masts were flown in by helicopter during the May bank holiday weekend.

Currently, over 20 percent of the area lacks 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators, with signal blackspots.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, said, “Many rural parts of Scotland are already benefiting from our rollout of new and upgraded masts, and we are delighted to bring enhanced mobile connectivity to Uist.”

Operators will invest £532m to eliminate most ‘partial not-spots’ – areas which receive coverage from at least one, but not all, operators. The UK Government will provide a further £500m to build new masts to eliminate ‘total not-spots.’

The SRN  initiative is a partnership between the Government and mobile network operators aimed at extending 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by the end of next year..

Nearly 80 of the sites are in Scotland’s remote areas including Shetland, Ardross, and Argyll and Bute, alongside 19 in rural England and three in Northern Ireland.

The latest milestone was the deployment of 4G masts to the Isle of Skye iinvolving helicopter deliveries to bring connectivity to s the most isolated regions.

Three and Vodafone will share the sites enhancing mobile coverage at 146 rural locations.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, emphasissd the company’s commitment to overcoming geographical and logistical challenges to connect the UK’s most remote corners.

“Our investment reflects our dedication to delivering fast and reliable coverage nationwide, addressing the critical need for equal access to digital services for everyone, regardless of location,” she said..

As Virgin Media O2 continues its rollout, more communities are expected to join the growing list of beneficiaries in the near future, further closing the gap in the UK’s urban-rural digital divide.

The network upgrades will resolve connectivity issues faced by small businesses in liably processing card and online payments as a study indicates 52 per cent of he population intend to buy from rural small businesses to support the local economy. However rural shoppers have often been unable to complete purchases due to connectivity problems.

This year Virgin Media O2 has has rolled out 5G to more than 30,000 rural locations and enhanced 4G connectivity in over 34,245 postcodes.

Virgin Media O2’s efforts are part of the UK Government’s Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. The company has expanded its 4G network to 50 additional sites and secured planning consent for 100 more.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2 said:

“Small businesses are the cornerstone of the UK economy and are vitally important to rural communities. Our Great Rural Revival report demonstrates the transformational power improved connectivity could have for these rural small businesses. This is why we are committed to enhancing connectivity in these areas.

“To ensure the future of rural small businesses, we must establish greater collaboration with industry partners, the UK government, planning authorities and landowners to deliver the network upgrades that underpin reliable and fast connectivity for rural communities.”

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