O2 is a telecommunications company that operates in Germany, among other countries. The company was founded on 7 January 1985 as Cellnet, a joint venture between BT Group and Securicor. In 1999, BT Group acquired Securicor's share of Cellnet and the company was later rebranded as BT Cellnet. The company was spun off from the BT Group in 2002 to form a new holding company, mmO2 plc, which introduced the new "O2" brand for the businesses. In 2005, mmO2 plc was renamed O2 plc.
In 2006, O2 plc was purchased by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica for £18 billion. O2 plc was renamed Telefónica O2 Europe in 2007 and then Telefónica Europe plc in 2008, and became the holding company for Telefónica's operations in the UK. In May 2020, Telefónica reached an agreement with Liberty Global to merge the company with Virgin Media. On 1 June 2021, O2 and Virgin Media formally merged to create Virgin Media O2 as a joint venture between Telefónica and Liberty Global.
3G Network
The company launched its 3G network in December 2006 over the B1 (2100 MHz) band. O2 completed its 3G shutdown in December 2021.
3G Frequency Bands
3G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 3G Network
|
Launch
|
|
|
Shutdown of 3G Network
|
Shut Down
|
4G Network
The company's 4G LTE network was launched in using the B3 (1800 MHz) band.
4G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20
|
Active
|
||
|
20
|
Active
|
||
|
10
|
Active
|
||
|
10
|
Active
|
||
|
10
|
Active
|
4G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 4G Network
|
Launch
|
5G Network
O2 launched its first 5G services in October 2020 using n78 (3500 MHz). The company later added n3 (1800 MHz) and n28 (700 MHz) services in late 2021. The network was upgraded to Standalone (SA) in October 2023.
5G Frequency Bands
| Network Frequency Band | Max. Channel Bandwidth | Status | Known EARFCNs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20
|
Active
|
||
|
10
|
Active
|
||
|
70
|
Active
|
5G Network Events
| Date | Event | Subtype |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Launch of 5G Network
|
Launch
|