Tag: masts

Find your local mobile mast – 2020 Update

With 5G masts being thrown up at a rapid rate and concerns over signal or safety, there’s always been a keen interest in where local mobile masts actually are. Back in 2011 we started looking into this, and back then the mobile networks were reporting where all their …

Shared rural mast network – a bit delayed, but back on.

Last year we covered the new shared rural network but things hit a bit of a wall when operators objected to the cost of using the EE equipment. The plan was to share masts and other infrastructure in areas which wouldn’t normally be considered as “beneficial” or cost-effective. …

Find your local mobile mast – 2020 Edition

Update – We’ve recently posted an additional update to this story here. Many years ago, mobile networks gave the location of their masts to Ofcom. That was back in 2011 though, and after a bit they ditched it. Mobile companies didn’t have to map the location of masts, …

5G Planning consultation ends. Will less red tape mean more masts?

We could very soon see more masts and much higher ones too. It comes as the government ends a consultation into 5G planning restrictions, with proposals including the deployment of radio equipment and strengthening existing masts without approval. It also looks at adding more masts nearer to highways …

BT want to get into your lamp post

When 5G really starts rolling, you’re going to see a growth in smaller masts which cover high-usage areas. Because of this, and the need to also remove the not-spots of existing 4G coverage, BT want operators to have access to council-owned “street furniture”, such as lamp posts and …

Find your local mast, the 2018 version

Every time I check the site stats, there’s one post in particular which is always massively popular. This mast finder article from 2011 is causing the most amount of interest. It’s understandable really. People obviously have coverage maps from their network, but finding out how close masts are is …

Want better coverage? Go to church.

Getting coverage into rural areas is a constant challenge for the networks. We’ve seen EE using an innovative home-broadband solution for rural homes and Vodafone have their Sure Signal kit plus new mini masts. However, the problem with planning permission and fierce opposition to unsightly large masts in …

One in three get no signal or a rubbish reception at home

For me it’s not too surprising. While networks concentrate on pushing out 4G networks, they do so from existing masts, so the actual coverage doesn’t really change a great deal. Sure, you could argue that the different frequencies used by some networks for their 4G signals has improved …

EE 4G – Coolsmartphone Goes Hands On

Tucked away in a leafy part of London yesterday I was given the opportunity to have a play with EE’s new 4G handsets running on the brand spanking new 4G network. The handsets on show were the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, …

O2 and Voda to share network infrastructure

Telefónica UK (O2) and Vodafone UK are to begin “pooling” their two networks – both 900MHz – to create “one national grid running each operator’s independent spectrum.” They’re doing this partially to ensure that 4G coverage can be rolled out as quickly as possible, but also to improve …

£150 Million of public money for more masts

Coverage. It’s always a hot topic. Check your local paper and we’re prepared to lay money on the fact that those residents groups opposing a new mast will be secretly sitting at home, cursing the lack of a decent signal. The Chancellor, George Osborne, has promised £150 million …

Find your local mobile mast

18/10/2016 – A lot of you have been in touch about this article. It’s five years old now and sadly Ofcom have taken the decision to remove their Sitefinder system. However, we’ve managed to get all the data viewable here so head to our newer article to find …

Do you REALLY know where those mobile masts are?

When you read stories of mobile phone masts being pulled down by concerned local residents it is usually due to the fact that they're fairly big, fairly visible and right next to a school or local houses. Some may question the anger. I myself remember...