Apply to be one of the 100 rural communities to get mobile signal boost

[Ellis_VF]

Hi

We have often discussed about how difficult it can be to bring great signal coverage to some rural areas of the UK. Sometimes the ley of the land of local planning restrictions mean that our traditional ways of working just won’t suffice.

In order to help combat this issue Vodafone have been working on different ways to bring better signal coverage to these communities. For this reason we developed our Open Sure Signal programme and have been trialling it in 12 sites around the UK.

Following this trial we are now ready to roll out the service to another 100 locations. In order to help us choose where these sites should be, we are asking our customers to apply to get one of the trials in their local area.

Our social blog has a full run down of the information on the Vodafone Open Sure Signal and how to go about applying to be part of the rollout. Have a read of it here.

What do you guys think about the Open Sure Signal?

[drey_p]

Wow, sounds like a great way of improving the black spots and getting signal to areas where it doesn't exist. It sounds like it could potentially be rolled out even quicker than standard mobile tech so that is a good thing to.

[AnnS]

Vodafone are full of surprises but always knew the company was committed to improving coverage.

Its a great way of providing mobile coverage to remote places where there it previously didnt exists.  It is also a lot less unsightly than erecting tall mobile phone masts and should be a lot quicker to roll out.

[Lambkin]

Just yet another statement from Vodafone which has proved to have no substance whatsoever. Those of us who choose to live in Rural areas have poor Cell cover and poor broadbarnd. So it is little disturbing that Vodafone only pay lipservice to what is a difficult, but not insoluble problem.

I have an excellent elevated site, with good access and close to an electricity supply which is midway between two villages, both of which have poor reception. I would very much like a mast Company to visit this site and evaluate the possibilities as claimed.

Unfortunateley with the mast sharing between all and sundry site rental is declining, despite promises by Vodafone and other providors to reach Governments provisors when bidding in the last round of 4G wavelengths.

I would like a better signal, I have Sure Signal which makes indoor calls viable, but step outside and all is lost. Not good enough I say, I would welcome a response.

[Nabs]

Not sure how it will work now that CTIL manage Vodafone's masts for them though I assume if there is a suitable site with the possibility of getting planning permission there would certainly be someone interested in considering it. One of the team should be able to get in touch and pass on details. It can take them a couple days to respond to posts though so you might need to sit tight. 

If CTIL/Vodafone are not interested then Arqiva may be worth a try.

Nabs

[Retired-Sarah]

Hi @Lambkin 

I’ve sent you a private message, so we can provide further information. 

Thanks,

Sarah

[Nabs]

It's a very similar idea to what BT did with the inital Fibre upgrades, communities were allowed to register and vote, those with the most votes got the fibre.

This is obviously slightly different as Vodafone are making the ultimate decisions but it can only be a good thing for rural communities. 

I fear many won't have the required minimum broadband speeds that Vodafone are looking for which could hurt some places.