Freshwave brings 5G-ready infrastructure to Croydon
This new tech will give better mobile coverage to Croydonites, no matter what network they're on.
Croydon has taken exciting steps towards world-class mobile connectivity by becoming the first council in the UK to offer a non-exclusive, open access approach to telecoms operators, following government guidance.
Working in partnership with Freshwave, the first 4G small cell antennae were installed last week across town centre locations including Croydon University Hospital and West Valley Hospital in East Croydon. Installation will continue to additional locations later in the summer and in early 2021.
The open access, non-exclusive approach championed by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) enables Croydon to work with multiple telecoms operators and all mobile networks to bring customers better and faster 4G coverage throughout Croydon.
The deployment of this digital infrastructure across the borough will put Croydon at the forefront of connectivity by improving the quality of service provided by 4G, with faster speed and greater capacity. It will also facilitate the rapid rollout of 5G when it arrives in the UK.
Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure at DCMS, said:
“This landmark agreement breaks through one of the biggest barriers to delivering better mobile coverage to people, no matter which network they use.
“Open access telecoms infrastructure is not only the quickest and cheapest way of providing seamless 4G coverage, but it will also pave the way to delivering the economic and social benefits of next-generation 5G technology for our communities.
“I hope other councils now follow this forward-thinking move by Croydon.”
Croydon’s cabinet member for the economy and jobs, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, called the new infrastructure “a crucial step forward for Croydon’s economy as we look to recover from the impact of Covid-19”.
Enhancing mobile and broadband connectivity across the borough is a priority as highlighted in Croydon’s Digital Strategy and is essential to support greater productivity for local companies, more employment opportunities and attracting new business.
Earlier this month we published our Croydon Digital Infrastructure Toolkit, which details our standardised open access approach to working with Telecoms Code Operators. A number of operators have already submitted expressions of interest and we look forward to discussing how these operators can help enhance mobile connectivity across the borough.