Vodafone UK to Boost Indoor Mobile Signals for 100 Rural Communities

Mobile operator Vodafone has today launched its new Community Indoor Sure Signal (CISS) project, which will use fixed line broadband connections to help deliver 3G mobile coverage to 100 rural community hubs (pubs, village halls etc.) where signal quality is usually weak or non-existent.

The somewhat stop-gap solution appears to build off Vodafone’s existing Rural Open Sure Signal (Femtocell) technology, which is being used to expand 3G network coverage across almost 100 isolated rural communities. But the ROSS programme still struggles with indoor coverage and that’s where the new scheme comes into play.

Under the CISS programme a community hub, such as a village pub, will be asked to plug one of Vodafone’s femtocell based Sure Signal+ (v2.2) devices into their fixed line broadband router and this then uses the broadband service in order to help relay a 3G mobile signal around the property. Vodafone has been selling this kit to customers for years, so it’s not a new idea.

Apparently a successful pilot has already taken place at The Bear and Ragged Staff pub in Bransford, near Worcester, and Vodafone is now calling for other rural community hubs with poor mobile reception to apply for the system by 1st September 2016. After this the operator intends to announce the first selected communities during autumn 2016.

Jorge Fernandes, Vodafone UK Chief Technology Officer, said:

“Reliable mobile coverage and mobile internet are vital to the economic and social well-being of rural communities. By installing our units, we can ensure that rural hotspots continue to play an important role in rural community life.”

Lynda Williams, The Bear and Ragged Staff, said:

“We are absolutely delighted with our Vodafone Sure Signal+ unit which is providing our business with excellent Vodafone mobile coverage. Being located in a rural area, this is something we have struggled with but Vodafone have provided us with a solution. It was extremely easy to install and within minutes we were connected to the world!”

However there is a catch, which is that the successful applicants will need to supply an unlimited fixed line broadband connection that can deliver download speeds of at least 4Mbps and uploads of 2Mbps (easier said than done for some of the most remote communities). Obviously this will suck some of your connection speed, although for many it might be a price worth paying.

Each indoor Sure Signal device should provide up to 50 metres of 3G coverage (note: building materials, such as thick walls, can impact this) and they make use of the 2100MHz band for the signal itself.

Naturally only Vodafone customers will be able to use the 3G coverage provided by Open Sure Signal and the operator hints that it might add support for 4G in the future, but this has yet to be confirmed and fixed lines would probably need to be even faster to support it.