Written by Andrew Wooden for Telecoms.com
UK operator EE is performing 125 network upgrades on temporary 4G and 5G masts to give venues some extra connectivity juice during busy events this summer.
Network congestion can happen when mobile sites are hit with a surge of people trying to connect at once – so the idea is throwing up some temporary extra masts should allow for better download speeds and more reliable coverage during big sporting and music events.
Seven additional masts have been installed around the 900-acre site at Glastonbury music festival, which kicks off this weekend. More masts will be thrown up at over the next few months at Latitude Festival, Tartan Heart Festival, Camp Bestival, Kendal Calling, Boomtown, Creamfields North, and the Reading and Leeds Festival.
Temporary masts will also be installed to at sporting venues including Silverstone, Cheltenham Racecourse, and Wembley Stadium for various big games and races, as well as Royal Ascot, Boardmasters Festival, Goodwood Festival of Speed, and Goodwood Revival.
“For many people the summer is all about spending time making memories with family and friends,” said Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group. “By expanding our network capacity with these temporary 4G and 5G sites, we are helping enhance the live event experience for our customers. Whether they want to FaceTime their parents from the Pyramid Stage or surf their social feeds at Boardmasters, they can count on EE to make it a summer to remember.”
