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O2 invests £700m into its mobile network

March 2, 2026

O2 has confirmed that it will invest £700 million (€596.4m) into its mobile network in 2026, helping deliver a faster, more reliable and resilient connectivity experience for customers across the UK.

Comprehensive investment will support a programme of upgrades across the country, including the installation of more small cells and masts, the transfer and subsequent deployment of new spectrum, the redeployment of spectrum into O2’s 4G and 5G networks and the rollout of 1,000 Giga Sites nationwide. These sites combine different spectrum bands and technologies in a single site, boosting capacity and allowing the operator to offer strong, reliable signal to a large area.

As part of the Mobile Transformation Plan, O2 will continue to strengthen its leadership in 5G+, with its next-generation 5G standalone network now reaching 87 per cent of the UK population – the largest footprint in the country. The operator will also move more of its customer base on to the 5G+ network, ensuring they benefit from faster speeds, improved coverage and reduced latency.

Alongside its  5G+ network, O2 says it is providing a big boost to rural connectivity with the recent switch on of O2 Satellite. The launch made O2 the first UK operator to provide its customers with direct-to-device satellite connectivity, bringing connectivity to not-spots across the country for the first time. This brought coverage to an area two thirds the size of Wales, helping ensure O2 customers can always stay connected even when venturing into remote areas off the beaten track.

The operator is continuing to bring its mobile and fixed networks together and using its own fibre network to connect mobile sites, recently connecting 2,000 mobile sites to its proprietary 10Gbps fibre backhaul network. The upgraded sites benefit from an increase in capacity and throughput, translating to faster response times and more reliable performance for customers.

More network hotspots such as stadiums and transport hubs will also benefit from innovative partnerships and bespoke solutions including cutting-edge Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) designed to significantly increase throughput and customer experience in some of the highest demand locations. This follows upgrades at stadiums including Twickenham and Wembley last year.

These upgrades are underpinned by continued investment in O2’s core network, as more services and applications are migrated into new, advanced cloud-native datacentres. This shift to secure software-driven, automated technology will make it faster for the operator to introduce new functionality, increase capacity and improve resilience so customers can benefit from reliable high-performance connectivity even as demand for data continues to grow.

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, commented: “Our Mobile Transformation Plan is all about building a network that customers can rely on wherever they are and whenever they need it. This £700 million investment means we can keep improving performance in the places that matter most, from busy city centres and stadiums to railways, roads and rural communities. We have already made significant strides in boosting coverage, capacity and reliability across the country, and our industry-leading 5G+ network now reaches 87 per cent of the UK population. We are also the first UK operator to provide our customers with direct-to-device satellite connectivity, following the switch on of O2 Satellite. Customer satisfaction with our network continues to grow and we’ve recently been crowned the best network for coverage by uSwitch for the second year in a row. By continuing to invest in new infrastructure, deploying additional spectrum and embracing greater automation, we are creating the stronger, smarter network that our customers need.”

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