Reepham Town Team seeks better mobile phone coverage

Vodafone is seeking up to 100 rural locations from across the UK, with little or no mobile telephone coverage, to install low-powered 3G mobile base stations known as Open Sure Signal units.
 

In rural and remote locations, the economic case for traditional networks can be challenging

 
The Reepham Town Team, which com prises representatives of the Town Council and local community groups, plans to apply for inclusion in this programme. If successful, this would provide Vodafone 3G mobile coverage across the town, hopefully eliminating some of the “not-spots” that frustrate residents, visitors and businesses alike.
 
Vodafone’s initial Rural Open Sure Signal trial, which started in 2012, has seen the connection of 12 rural communities across the UK, from Walls in the Shetland Islands to Newton St Cyres in Devon, as well as Blakeney in north Norfolk. Owing to the success of the trial for both consumers and small enterprises, Vodafone has decided to extend the programme to 100 further rural communities across the UK.
 
In rural and remote locations, the economic case for traditional networks can be challenging. This may be due to the geography of the area or difficulties with siting masts in places such as national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
 
The Vodafone Rural Open Sure Signal programme uses “femtocell” technology to provide a Vodafone 3G signal in areas where traditional mobile coverage has been unable to reach. About the size of a domestic broadband box and in a range of colours (white, grey and brown), the units use existing broadband services to deliver the mobile signal needed to provide 3G coverage, where before there was little or none.
 
Each unit has a range of up to 500 metres. They can be installed on any number of buildings including village halls, pubs, shops and homes across the community to ensure widespread mobile coverage. At least five potential locations in the town will need to be identified and should be located as high as possible to allow the signal to travel as far as possible.
 
Communities are encouraged to nominate a Village Champion to lead the application process and ensure the community has a number of things in place before submitting their application form. These include ensuring the community has at least a 4 Mbps broadband connection, which is essential as Rural Open Sure Signal units work from a broadband connection, to identifying 5-10 properties across the community, often on buildings on a hill or in a “community hub”, on which to site the boxes.
 
Applications close on 14 October 2014, and the successful communities will be announced later in the autumn.
 
Vodafone can’t guarantee the programme will cure all coverage black spots, but says the Open Sure Signal technology is ideal for public meeting places or focal points in small rural areas. For coverage over a large area, a mobile phone mast may still be the best option.
 
At this stage, the programme will only benefit customers with a Vodafone contract, but at least that will be better than no signal. And if a unit is located in Reepham’s Market Place, which is a conservation area, and/or on listed buildings, there may be planning permission considerations. Further, each property owner, or the community, will need to be prepared to fund around £30 a year in electricity costs for each Open Sure Signal Unit.
 
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The Open Sure Signal unit uses existing broadband services to deliver the mobile signal needed to provide 3G coverage

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