O2 apologises for 'network snags'.

Over at the Financial Times, (and now the Telegraph, The Register, Macrumours, the iPhone Blog, and Yahoo) Ronan Dunne (claimed to be the Head of O2) is interviewed:

The head of O2 has apologised to customers who could not make phone calls because the mobile operator’s London network was overwhelmed by bandwidth-hungry smartphones.

Why is O2 the only person surprised that iPhones actually use the 3g data network? In the years that O2 had a monopoly in selling them, they could have easily restricted sale in order to manage network growth. Instead they're blaming the customers for using the devices as they have been sold. Has anyone at O2 actually seen an iPhone ad, where they use network bandwidth? Two things: 

• Dont blame the customers for buying your products
• Blaming customers for 'data hungry' smartphones, when they're used in exactly the manner you have advertised them, smacks of big tobacco blaming their customers for getting lung cancer by misusing cigarettes. Disingenous at best.

Mr Dunne said O2’s network difficulties had been caused by an “explosion” of demand for data services on smartphones but insisted the problems were largely confined to London.

Well, a quarter of O2's million iPhones are within the M25. O2 have the worst (in terms of coverage, management and bandwidth) 3g network in the country. So yeah, folks outside London cant even get 3g. No wonder O2 think that the problems are focused on areas where they serve 3g.

Some O2 customers have periodically been unable to make or receive phone calls, or download material to their handsets, because the network was clogged up by smartphones.

How can the network be 'clogged up' with smarphones. Was it a surprise to O2 how many smartphones are in use ?  Does the part of O2 that bills £35 a month to smartphone users not talk to the part that actually has to provide this premium service that it is charging for ? I really feel like a valued customer now, being described as a clog.

“Where we haven’t met our own high standards then there’s no question, we apologise to customers for that fact,” said Mr Dunne. “But it would be wrong to say that O2 has failed its customers en masse.”

Its not wrong to say that. Its factual. O2 have failed their customers en-masse by not managing their 3g network. They started off with the worst 3g network (in terms of coverage) and have (In my humble opinion) trousered the money that should have went to investing in infrastructure. Who was in charge of that decision? Mr Dunne? 

There's a million pound bonus question. Who was in charge of the policy of not investing in the network? If I were a real journalist, I might ask that question.

He added that “any short-term blip” in O2’s “network reputation” would be “more than addressed” by three solutions to the difficulties.

A 'blip' implies a short period of time. Is six months a short period of time ? This is how long the network was unable to service any 3g device in our area. Is that a blip ? Or is it half a year?

Their reputation is shot with all the existing O2 customers. Providing a premium-cost phone and data service, and then failing to allow that device even to accept incoming calls, is a failure of monumental proportions. When the carrier has screwed up the network so that phones don't work - its game over.

O2 has been working with Nokia Siemens Networks, its infrastructure supplier, on software modifications that will ensure it can better manage the combination of voice and data traffic on its network.

This is 'IT Terminology' for 'Screaming at the supplier', 'Reading the manual' and 'finally listening to the network architects who told you years ago that this wouldnt work'.  Now that its a full-blown crisis, no doubt beset by seagull management (flies in, makes a lot of noise, shits over your desk and flaps out again), the cheque book has finally been diverted from Management Jollies and Fat Bonus's to 'stuff that makes our business work'. Hurrah. It'll take months, if not years for this to work.

Second, it is installing 200 additional mobile base stations in London, which will increase the traffic load the network can bear.

That'll take years. It took them six months to increase bandwith on an existing base station at an existing location. 

And third, O2 is liaising with handset manufacturers, including Apple and Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, to learn about applications that could place heavy demands on the network.

IT talk for 'Screaming at the supplier', 'rehiring the network specialists we thought we could lay off' and 'reading the manual'. Nothing will come of this, for sure.

One thing that worries me is that there is no mention in his list of remedies for folks - such as us - who had long-standing network bandwidth issues at the local base station - and who have suddently burst into life. almost like someone finally plugged the network cable back in. Why did this take six months of complaints to the Chairmans office and my MP  to resolve ? 

Now, if I were a shareholder of O2, here's the question I'd ask: Who's managing O2's network ? Because, as a customer right now, I'd answer 'no-one'. 

What will be the effect of this ?

There's now a backlog of quarter to half a million pissed off iPhone users, who quite frankly have been badly treated in terms of 3g coverage, 3g bandwidth and customer service. They could all - en mass - complain to Oftel or OTELO - and get out of their lock-in contracts in a heartbeat, and transfer onto any other 3g carrier. According to Oftel charts (previous article), EVERY OTHER carrier has a better 3g network. 

If I were a shareholder - and thats the only people that O2 appear to listen to - I'd be aware that there will probably be a mass defection from O2 starting in Q1, that is going to flatten any O2 results for years to come. The share prices will plummet. 

O2 may still be able to save this - a massive 'we are sorry' campaign backed by line rental refunds might buy back customer loyalty. But I see no appetite for that from O2 right now. They've gotten used to treating the customers badly, and gotten used to trousering the money.

You can only fool some of the people some of the time, and the wheels are starting to fall off the O2 vehicle now.

Comments

[Nick]

If you need another strong voice feel free to contact me. I was dealing with a Katherine Bingham in the Slough Customer Service office a couple of months ago. All she could do was lie repeatedly to me. "There's no network problems, it must be your phone". So she arranges for the phone to be replaced. I cross examine her again when the new phone has the same network issues. And again she lies and lies and says there is nothing wrong with the network. What a bloody disgrace. Is that perhaps the worst way ever to treat your customers, as if they are the problem and they are the ones lying?

[Bill]

Yikes! Make a formal complaint to the CEO's office and demand line rental back for all the months hassle you've had. They will refuse.

Then take em to small claims court. We're considering doing that for all 55+ of us, and a small claim for each of the weeks (26) that our service was disrupted.

Wonder if there's a record for the number of small claims that a single company can collect?

---* Bill