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EE’s first 5G small cells go live in London
UK’s leading mobile operator uses street-level mini masts to take advantage of existing street infrastructure to boost mobile capacity in busy areas including first 5G small cells in London trial
As it faced the challenge of an ever more competitive market where quality of service is a key differentiator, EE announced in March 2022 that it deployed 200 new 4G small cells across its UK network to boost capacity in high-demand areas, and in the next stage of its strategy, the BT Group-owned UK mobile provider has now deployed over 1,000 small cells across the UK, marking 400 new deployments over the past 12 months including its first 5G sites, recently installed in Croydon, London.
The small cells comprise miniature mobile masts that are designed to offer performance boosts in high-demand areas thanks to their size, which makes them easy to install on everyday street infrastructure. These include the UK’s iconic red phone kiosks and digital street hubs, as well as lamp posts and other furniture.
As part of its deployment strategy, EE said it uses “advanced” network analytics to identify specific locations that would benefit from the performance boost enabled by a small cell. It then works with partners Nokia and Ericsson to deploy the service itself. The result is said to be reduced congestion, enabling customers to benefit from speeds of up to 300Mbps for 4G cells and 600Mbps for 5G.
In the past year, EE has expanded its 4G 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 such as Torbay and Cumbria.
EE claims to be unique in Europe in combining licensed 1800MHz and 2600Mhz spectrum with unlicensed 5GHz spectrum in its 4G small cells, which it insists helps to deliver “excellent” capacity and speeds.
The 5G cells in Croydon are configured with licensed 1800MHz spectrum for 4G and 3.5GHz for 5G. The 5G small cells are also now live as part of a trial taking place in the London Borough of Croydon.
Seven sites, including four along Croydon’s London Road – a thoroughfare lined with businesses, shops and homes – are now supporting the local community, seeing over 3TB of traffic each day.
Read more about small cells
- Indoor 5G gets a boost as small cells come to rescue: Indoor small cells are becoming more common in consumer and enterprise markets. Along with distributed antenna systems and Wi-Fi networks, small cells increasingly enable RF coverage.
- Macrocell vs. small cell vs. femtocell: A 5G introduction: Small cells provide fast connectivity speeds for 5G networks and capable devices, but 5G won't stop there. Macrocells and femtocells are also key to connect 5G networks.
- EE deploys small cell technology to boost UK mobile quality: BT-owned UK mobile network teams with Nokia to deploy small cell technology and improve 4G coverage in busiest areas of UK.
- 5G data traffic explosion to drive 5G small cell deployments to 13 million by 2027: Research projects 5G small cell deployments will accelerate by around 2025, when 5G capacity demands offered by Massive MIMO becomes insufficient.
Commenting on the deployment, BT Group chief networks officer Greg McCall 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.”
Executive mayor of Croydon Jason Perry added: “This is great news for Croydon – we’re delighted to be the first town in the UK to be trialling 5G small cells with EE, bringing the latest mobile connectivity to our borough. These 5G small cells will improve the network capacity in high-usage areas, giving faster download speeds for our residents, businesses and visitors.”
