O2 reports 20% spectral efficiency gain from AI trial, a year ahead of EE's Birmingham plans

O2 has started using artificial intelligence to manage the radio side of its live 5G network. O2 describes it as the first live deployment of this kind in the UK, and says the 5G+ Standalone site improved its spectral efficiency by about 20%.

What this means for customers

Nothing has been announced that changes what O2 customers pay or receive. No prices, tariff changes or customer-facing dates accompanied the news.

The people with the most direct involvement so far are those who used the Paddington site while the trial ran.

O2 intends to deploy the technology more widely. The company has not said which sites would come next or on what timetable, so there is no way yet to tell when customers elsewhere might be on a network managed this way.

What the trial showed

Spectral efficiency describes how much traffic a network can carry over the radio spectrum it has. A gain of about 20% at Paddington means the site was able to handle more mobile data traffic without any extra spectrum being added. O2 has published that single headline figure and no breakdown behind it, such as speeds, latency or the number of customers affected.

The technology itself uses predictive AI to adjust 5G radio resources automatically as demand and conditions on the network change. The aim is a more efficient use of the spectrum the operator already holds, instead of waiting for a person or a fixed configuration to react.

O2 picked a demanding location for the test. Paddington is a busy London transport interchange, where the load on a mobile site rises and falls through the day as passengers come and go.

O2's view

O2 chief technology officer Jeanie York said: "Mobile data demand continues to grow, so we need smarter ways to make the most of the spectrum and infrastructure we already have. This live trial with Nokia showed how AI can improve network efficiency and help us respond more effectively to changing customer demand. By making better use of existing network resources, we can deliver a better experience for customers while supporting future traffic growth."

Where the site fits in O2's network

O2 uses the Giga Site label for the mobile sites that carry its most advanced 5G features, among them 5G+ and dual-band Massive MIMO. As of July 2026, O2 had put 500 such sites in place around the UK, so Paddington is one of a sizeable group and not a one-off.

The work also sits alongside O2's wider Mobile Transformation Plan for 2026, which involves £700m of investment.

EE is on a similar path

O2's announcement came only days after rival EE, which is part of BT, said it is working with NVIDIA and Nokia on its own first AI-RAN sites. Those are planned for Birmingham, with a 2027 date attached.

On the timings published so far, O2 has a site running on its live network now, while EE's first installations are still some way off. Nokia is the common supplier in both cases. Comparing the two approaches properly will depend on either operator releasing more detailed results than a single efficiency figure.

Broadband deals from this provider

EE: Fibre 67, cheapest stored deal (effective monthly; availability not checked): £23.99 per month (as of 2026-10-26).

EE: BBP Score for Fibre 67: 45 points/100 (as of 2026-10-26).

EE: advertised download for Fibre 67: 67 Mbps (as of 2026-10-26).