Drivers across the UK are being backed with a huge boost to motorway access, with further support for electric vehicle owners.
Virgin Media O2 has announced huge coverage improvements for 4G and 5G connectivity on more than 40 major motorways and A roads.
The new connections support almost 600 miles of road and are targeted at key locations along the UK’s strategic road network.
This includes the M1 (London to Leeds), M4 (London to Bristol), M6 (Coventry to Carlisle) and Scotland’s M8 (Glasgow to Edinburgh).
Virgin Media O2 is also taking steps to link ports, cities and regions with the 4G boost at 311 sites and an impressive 338 new 5G builds to improve reliability.
This is also designed to support chargepoint operator Believ, which will be installing up to 30,000 new charging points nationwide.
It will target areas where O2 has recently improved the connection, given that “signal anxiety” is a bigger concern for EV drivers than range fears.
A targeted testing programme was used to determine the location of improvements, which measured real-world network performance across the road network.
In total, connectivity along 590 miles of road has been improved
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PA
Research from the company found that 76 per cent of electric vehicle drivers have concerns about losing mobile connectivity, compared to just 68 per cent with range anxiety.
Losing mobile connection could lead to further issues if they cannot access maps, charger updates, location information and even the ability to pay for the service.
Guy Bartlett, CEO at Believ, said: “This is a brilliant example of private industry coming together with the shared purpose of helping drivers make a seamless transition to electric vehicles.
“The enhanced connectivity is great news, giving drivers even more reason to feel confident and excited about switching to EVs.”
For non-EV drivers, range anxiety remains the biggest concern, as stated by nine in 10 motorists.
Virgin Media O2 is also planning to continue its optimisation programme, targeting the A14 (Rugby to Ipswich), the M20 (London to Folkestone) and the A75 (Gretna to Stranraer).
The upgrades are part of the company’s £700million Mobile Transformation Plan. This aims to expand 4G and 5G coverage by rolling out small cells in dense areas.
While it does not include motorways and A roads, the Mobile Transformation Plan first aimed to improve connections along railways, airports and in stadiums.
Believ will install 30,000 new EV chargers across the UK
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BELIEV
Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2, added: “Connectivity underpins a huge part of the driving experience today, but particularly for EVs.
“By optimising coverage on more than 40 motorways and A roads as part of our £700million investment in our Mobile Transformation Plan, we’re helping make every journey safer and more reliable.
“Alongside Believ’s new charging points, this is about removing barriers so more people can make the switch to electric with confidence.”
There are almost 86,800 public EV chargers across the UK, at more than 44,000 locations, with drivers able to make use of 121,268 connectors.