What is it with o2's network coverage at the Stadium of Light? As soon as you walk through the turnstiles and into the stadium you continue to have full coverage on your iPhone but you can't make calls, send/receive texts or access the internet.
It used to be bareable last season (2008/09) when you at least had The Cloud's free WiFi but this year even that has disappeared. I don't know if it's down to the o2 network stuggling with a high concentration of people accessing their network at the same time or something else entirely but something needs to be done.
The people I follow on twitter and those I attend matches with have reported the same problem, so i know it's not just a fault with my mobile. I've decided to email Sunderland AFC and see what response i get but i'd be interested if anyone else has similar issues.
update – email response from Sunderland AFC 10/10/2009
I have been informed that some of the 3G networks give a weaker signal within the
Stadium of Light, I am on O2 also and sometimes encounter the same problem,
some days I can text other times the signal strength is not so good, however it
does still let me make calls and receives texts, however sometimes
I get a signal failure. I don’t think this is only O2 it seems to be the
3G networks. Sorry I am not that technical however have brought this to the
attention of the correct person internally. The person in the SOL responsible
for networking is now aware of this and we are working to try and rectify this as
best we can but it may be out of our control. Thank you for bringing this to our
attention and your interest in the Club. Sharon Ewart Media and
Communications Team Sunderland AFC
