Mobile network operator EE (BT) has today announced that they’ve now deployed over 1,000 small cells (mini radio masts) across the UK, marking 400 new deployments over the last 12 months. But this now includes the provider’s first “trial” 5G (mobile broadband) enabled sites, which have been installed in Croydon (London).
Unlike larger base stations and masts, shoebox sized small cells are only designed to deliver limited coverage over a shorter distance and thus tend to be more focused on busy urban areas (e.g. shopping malls) or specific sites (e.g. airports and ports). But they can also be used to improve coverage in parts of some rural communities. Such kit is often positioned on the side of buildings or street furniture (e.g. lamp posts, CCTV columns and street kiosks etc.).
In the last year, EE has expanded its small cell estate to towns and cities including Cardiff, Dundee, Luton, Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent, as well as continuing to improve capacity in summer hotspots like Torbay and Cumbria. But until now these have only been 4G radios.
However, EE’s first 5G small cells have recently gone live as part of a trial taking place in the London Borough of Croydon. A total of 7 sites, including 4 along Croydon’s London Road – a busy thoroughfare lined with businesses, shops and homes – are now supporting the local community, seeing over 3TB (TeraBytes) of total traffic each day.
Greg McCall, BT Group’s Chief Networks Officer, said:
“Small cells are an integral component within our mobile network, ensuring that even in the busiest places our customers have access to the full performance of the UK’s best network. To reach 1,000 deployments, including our first 5G sites, demonstrates our commitment to delivering unrivalled mobile connectivity to all four corners of the UK.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon, said:
“We’re delighted to be the first town in the UK to be trialling 5G small cells with EE … These 5G small cells will improve the network capacity in high-usage areas, giving faster download speeds for our residents, businesses and visitors.”
According to the operator, their 4G equipped small cells can deliver mobile broadband speeds of “up to” 300Mbps, which rises to 600Mbps on their new 5G kit, although this should be taken with the usual pinch of salt because individual user experiences can vary considerably. But at the time of writing it remains unclear quite how many 5G small cells the operator plans to deploy (post-trial) and over what timeframe.