O2 hits 80 percent 3G coverage at last

When operators bought their 3G licences back in 2000, they all promised to get coverage to 80 percent of the population by the end of last year. And they all managed it too – with the exception of O2, who got a bit of a slap on the wrist from the regulator after it missed the deadline.

The story has a happy ending though – Ofcom has confirmed O2 has finally hit the 80 percent target, albeit several months behind its rivals and after threats by the watchdog to cut its licence short unless it fulfilled its 3G pledge.

There’s some suggestions that this is secretly a signal a 3G iPhone is on the way. While it probably is, I don’t think this network build out is anything to do with it: after all, O2 launched the first 2G iPhone, and it didn’t have much of an EDGE network to start with either.