Ericsson to power Virgin Media O2’s 5G SA network under new five-year deal

Ericsson has been selected as the main radio access network (RAN) partner for Virgin Media O2 following a five-year extension to their existing agreementwith “several hundred million euros”.

Ericsson will support most of Virgin Media O2’s network as part of the operator’s ongoing Mobile Transformation Plan. Virgin Media O2 said the upgrade will allow it to migrate more customers onto its 5G SA network, which currently reaches 87 per cent of the UK population. The agreement is also structured to support future evolution towards Cloud RAN and 5G-Advanced technologies.

The agreement significantly expands Ericsson’s footprint across Virgin Media O2’s network and forms a central part of the operator’s strategy to improve mobile performance, capacity and coverage across the UK.

Virgin Media O2 said the programme is designed to deliver faster and more reliable connectivity, as mobile data traffic on its network has more than doubled over the past five years.

Ericsson will deploy a range of its latest radio products, including multiband Massive MIMO equipment such as the AIR 3229 and Radio 4486, across both new and existing sites. The rollout will also include AI- and machine learning-based software to optimise network performance in real time.

Patrick Johansson, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ericsson, said: “Virgin Media O2 is a close and trusted customer and partner of Ericsson’s. We will work closely with the company to realize its Mobile Transformation Plan.”

Jeanie York, Chief Technology Officer, Virgin Media O2, added: “ Ericsson is a long-standing partner in our network evolution and this agreement will help us accelerate the modernization of our radio network, unlocking greater capacity, improved efficiency and enhanced reliability”.

The partnership will focus on expanding the use of 5G Standalone (SA) technology, enabling Virgin Media O2 to make greater use of mid-band spectrum acquired in 2025. The operator said this will strengthen its position in 5G SA and support more advanced services.

Network programmability and slicing capabilities will also be introduced to enable differentiated services for enterprise and industry use cases.

This is the latest contract in a long-standing partnership between the two companies. Previous investment under the Mobile Transformation Plan in 2025 focused on increasing capacity through additional spectrum, network densification and small cell deployments, as well as targeted upgrades in high-traffic locations such as transport hubs and stadiums.

Coverage improvements have also been extended to rail routes, major roads and rural and coastal areas as part of the wider programme.