Improved Vodafone coverage for Reepham coming soon

The new Vodafone mobile phone base-stations in Reepham are getting their final tweaks. The company has installed three low-powered “femtocell” units at various locations in the town and each of these should have a range of about 200 metres.
 

Vodafone femtocell units being installed at Reepham Garage Services, Collers Way Industrial Estate, Reepham. Photos: John Tym

 
Bank House, owned by The Original Cottage Company, is being used to provide coverage in and around the Market Place. Reepham High School & College, the town's largest employer, has another unit and Reepham Garage Services has one that will include coverage for the businesses in and around Collers Way Industrial Estate. The femtocell units are very small and discreetly attached to the outside of these buildings.
 
Unlike a lot of 2G Vodafone coverage locally, these femto units will provide 3G coverage, which will allow reasonable internet access from mobile phones and other devices that can take advantage of such access using a mobile phone signal. This will improve coverage for people who come to Reepham either for work or leisure, as well as for residents and local businesses.
 
This programme started in September last year, explained Jeremy Brockman, who co-ordinated the project on behalf of the Reepham Town Team. “Reepham was lucky to win one of the 100 installations as part of a nationwide competition open to rural communities,” he said. “The original brief from Vodafone was that they should be installed at community hubs in the town.”
 
Mr. Brockman thanked the three sites that “stepped up to allow these units to be installed and all of the other properties who put their names forward for the initial proposal. “I appreciate that this will not provide universal coverage for everyone, but I challenge the other mobile phone providers to improve their coverage for rural communities.”
 
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