- O2 customers in St Ives and Newquay are set to benefit from better mobile connectivity following local upgrade.
- The company is working with Freshwave to deploy thirteen small cells in the Cornish resorts, with sites now live ahead of the peak summer season.
- With half of Brits planning a staycation this summer, the new sites will ensure that residents, businesses, and visitors have the best connectivity experience possible.
- O2 has the largest small cell deployment of any operator in the UK, recently reaching 2,000.
Residents, businesses, and visitors in two of Cornwall’s most popular towns are set to benefit from an improved mobile experience and faster speeds after the first O2 small cells have gone live in St Ives and Newquay.
O2 has partnered with connectivity infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave to deliver five small cells in St Ives and three in Newquay, with a further five set to go live soon. The innovative small cells are already boosting mobile capacity in these busy destinations.
The small cells have been deployed at key points in both towns, including at the Porthminster and Porthmeor beaches in St Ives, and Tolcarne beach and the train station in Newquay. With recent O2 research finding that almost half (48%) of Brits have a staycation planned this summer, the small cells will provide a crucial mobile boost in these high-footfall areas, helping both residents and visitors.
By using small cells which are quicker and easier to deploy than traditional phone masts, O2 customers are benefiting from improved coverage faster than would otherwise be possible. The operator has the largest small cell deployment of any operator in the UK, recently installing its 2,000th site.
Dr Rob Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said: “Cornwall is a beautiful part of the country and an extremely popular tourist destination in the summer. These new small cells serve some of the busiest areas in Cornwall and will ensure that O2 customers have a reliable mobile experience whether they’re streaming on the beach, having a pasty, or eating an ice cream.”
“Our Mobile Transformation Plan will see us invest around £700m into our mobile network this year to ensure our customers consistently receive an exceptional network experience wherever they are and even at the busiest times.”
Neil Barnes, Mobile Network Operator Account Director at Freshwave, said: “We’re pleased to have collaborated with Cornwall Council and O2 to enhance connectivity for O2 customers in some of the most well-known getaway spots in the UK. By boosting mobile coverage in coastal destinations like St Ives and Newquay in partnership with O2, we’re helping connect residents, visitors and local businesses in areas known for world-class beaches, vibrant tourism, and a growing creative economy.”
O2’s £700m Mobile Transformation Plan is focused on expanding 4G and 5G coverage, a dedicated small cells rollout to boost capacity in dense urban areas, and innovative solutions to address persistent network pain points, including along railway lines, at airports, on motorways, and in stadiums and arenas.
O2 also recently announced that it had agreed a deal with Vodafone UK to acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum, bringing the operator’s total spectrum holding to approximately 30% of UK mobile spectrum and materially enhancing the company’s network position.
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