New Small Cells in Chester to Boost Mobile Connections, O2 UK First to Adopt

Residents, visitors and businesses in the Cathedral City of Chester (Cheshire, England) may be pleased to learn that local 4G and possibly 5G mobile (mobile broadband) connections are set for a boost with the deployment of a new small cell network from Ontix, which follows a recent survey of local coverage by consultancy FarrPoint.

Small cells are like mini shoebox sized mobile (radio) base stations, which have been designed to deliver limited coverage (usually up to around 80-120 metres) and thus tend to be more focused on busy urban areas and specific sites – it’s not uncommon to find these sitting on top of lampposts, CCTV poles or old payphone cubicles (i.e. they can be more cost-effective than building new street assets or trying to secure wayleaves on buildings etc.).

Ontix have already deployed similar small cells around other locations, such as central Reading (here), and the network they create can be harnessed by all of the main mobile operators. In this case, the Cheshire West and Chester Councils have “secured an agreement in principle” for a new network of small cells to be “installed across the city centre” by Ontix.

The first mobile operator to harness this will be O2 (Virgin Media), although the local authorities have also engaged with Vodafone and hope to see them going live in the near future too. The network roll-out is due to start in early 2025 and probably won’t take long to complete.

Councillor Nathan Pardoe said:

“Residents, businesses and visitors to Chester have to spend time searching for a signal, reconnecting dropped calls, and waiting for mobile data – it’s clear that all network operators need to improve their network capacity in Chester. This is why Chester’s One City Plan includes actions to improve connectivity.

We all rely on good mobile signal and through the actions of the One City Plan, new infrastructure will be rolled out from early 2025 onwards to connect the City to faster and more reliable services. Thank you to the network operators for investing in Chester, and to the One City Plan Making Groups’ ‘Digital’ working stream for championing this issue & working closely with the Council to make this happen.”

The deal follows a survey that was conducted by connectivity consultancy firm FarrPoint, which helped to establish Chester’s digital connectivity issues and develop an action programme to tackle those.