14 DAY TRIAL // Vodafone has become the latest mobile operator to sign up to Arqiva's CityCell solution in Glasgow. The 10-year deal sees Vodafone's 2G and 3G coverage enhanced via Arqiva's fully managed distributed antenna system (DAS). Vodafone will operate across 10 Arqiva CityCell nodes - discreet, low power antennas specifically designed for urban use - to enhance Vodafone's conventional network coverage.
Following comprehensive trials in Glasgow, Vodafone signed the 10-year deal with Arqiva to provide a fully managed 2G and 3G solution, encompassing design, implementation and maintenance. CityCell's street-level antennas connect back to a central base station 'hotel' on an existing fiber-optic network to provide fast and secure connectivity. The added capacity is designed to service the burgeoning end-user demand for data applications such as mobile internet and email as well as video and music services.
John Townsend, Head of National Site Share at Vodafone, said: "We've seen an increasing demand for 3G services since the launch of the technology and we are committed to delivering improvements to our customers."
Bob Slorach, engineering manager for shared wireless solutions at Arqiva, commented: "We have worked closely with the mobile operators to provide a practical and highly cost-effective solution to enable high-quality network coverage and capacity. By centralizing all base-station equipment, network capacity can be increased within hours and managed in real time. Above all, we aim to deliver simplified access to expandable 3G coverage."
Arqiva's multi-operator solution enhances the quality of service for both mobile operators and their customers. By simplifying the handover between cells, mobile users will benefit from near seamless coverage and fewer dropped calls as they move around the city. Furthermore, the CityCell system can be easily linked to Arqiva's InBuilding systems to decrease the deployment time and cost of providing good quality indoor coverage.