Vodafone will provide 3G to 100 community centres in rural locations with poor mobile coverage using femtocell technology.
The Community Indoor Sure Signal (CISS) is inviting applications from establishments such as independent or community owned pubs, village halls, doctor’s surgeries or visitor’s centres and will provide participants with a ‘Sure Signal+’ unit that plugs into an existing router.
Applicants must have a broadband connection with at least 4Mbps download and 2Mbps upload speeds for it to work.
Read More: What next for rural mobile coverage
“Reliable mobile coverage and mobile internet are vital to the economic and social well-being of rural communities,” said Jorge Fernandes, Vodafone UK CTO. “By installing our units, we can ensure that rural hotspots continue to play an important role in rural community life.”
CISS complements the Rural Open Sure Signal (ROSS) initiative which provided femtocells to 100 villages. The Sure Signal+ device is pitched at businesses as a way of providing better indoor mobile coverage for staff.
Residents and campaigners in rural areas have long complained about the persistence of ‘notspots’ but the government and all four major operators have entered into a legally-binding agreement that will see a combined £5 billion invested into network infrastructure.
Each operator will be required to offer at least voice and text services to 90 percent of the UK’s land mass while full coverage will increase from 69 percent to 85 percent by 2017. EE has committed to covering 95 percent of the UK’s landmass with 4G by 2020.
What do you know about UK mobile operators? Find out with our quiz!
Boeing Starliner space capsule set for first crewed flight into orbit after years of delays,…
Google clashes with US Justice Department in closing arguments as government argues Google used illegal…
Prominent Stanford University AI scientist Fei-Fei Li reportedly completes funding round for start-up based on…
Apple shares surge on optimism that new AI-focused hardware launches will drive renewed sales, starting…
Biden vetoes Republican-backed measure amidst dispute over 'joint employer' status for contract workers, affecting tech…
Lawyers in US social media addiction action say strict controls on Douyin in China show…