EE ‘Mini masts’ to boost 4G mobile coverage in Swansea’s busiest areas

• Small cell antennas have been mounted on street furniture such as lampposts, CCTV columns and phone boxes to boost EE’s 4G mobile coverage in busy parts of Swansea
• EE’s small cells take advantage of existing street infrastructure – including BT’s iconic red telephone boxes – to boost mobile capacity
• The ‘mini masts’ help improve street-level mobile coverage in busy areas like city-centres and transport hubs where it is not always practical to install more and larger mobile masts. 

New mobile ‘mini-masts’ have been installed by EE on street furniture like lampposts and phone boxes in Swansea to help boost mobile coverage in the busiest parts of the city.

The mini antennas, known as small cells, are now delivering enhanced 4G capacity in high demand areas of the city. The extra antennas mean that customers can take advantage of download speeds of up to 300Mbps, even at the busiest of times.

Small cells take advantage of existing street assets such as lamp posts and CCTV columns, as well as BT’s iconic red telephone boxes, to help enhance street-level mobile coverage in busy areas where it’s impractical to build larger masts, such as city-centres and transport hubs.

EE has worked with partners including Nokia to deploy small cells to boost capacity in busy locations including Castle Square and the pedestrianised shopping area of Oxford St. New antennas are planned for sites including Kingsway, Swansea train station, Parc Tawe Retail Park, Swansea Arena and Langland Bay.

James Hope, Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks, EE: “As demand for data continues to rise, small cells are becoming an increasingly integral part of our mobile network. Our partnership with Nokia ensures customers continue to benefit from our fastest 4G speeds even at the busiest times and in the most congested of locations, and we’re proud to pass another milestone in this project as we continue to invest in improving the UK’s best mobile network* up and down the country.”

EE’s continued network investment will see more small cells deployed in the coming months, both in existing and new towns and cities. EE is also trialling the extension of small cells to accommodate its 5G network, with Nokia’s AirScale portfolio able to upgrade to 5G.