Middle Winterslow in Wiltshire is the latest community across the country chosen by Vodafone UK to develop their own ‘community-led network’ which is now bringing much needed mobile coverage to homes and businesses in the area.
Working with the community and local MP John Glen, Vodafone UK has installed four Open Sure Signal units, which use innovative femto cell technology to provide a Vodafone 3G signal to areas which traditional mobile coverage has been unable to reach. About the size of a small suitcase, the units use existing broadband services to deliver the mobile signal needed to provide 3G coverage, where before there was little or none. The units have been placed across the village, including on top of the Lord Nelson and Lions Head pubs, the Village Hall and Lynchett Cottage.
Ofcom’s latest annual Communications Market Report highlights that half the UK population now use their mobile phone to access the internet.* So Vodafone Open Sure Signal not only enables Vodafone 3G voice services, but also provides the community with much needed access to the internet via their mobile.
As well as using Open Sure Signals to plug rural “not-spots”, Vodafone is also committed to increasing the scale of its existing network and plans to invest more than £1 billion in 2014 on its network and services this year. That investment comes on top of the £802m that Vodafone spent acquiring the widest portfolio of mobile spectrum in last year’s auction of new capacity by Ofcom. Vodafone has committed to provide coverage using 2G, 3G and 4G services to 98% of the UK population by the end of 2015.