New mobile ‘mini-masts’ have been installed by EE on street furniture like lamp-posts and phone boxes in Edinburgh to help boost mobile coverage in the busiest areas of the city.
The Scottish capital is the UK’s second most popular tourist destination after London, and the mobile mast installations come as the city prepares for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
During August, it’s estimated that the population of the city doubles, as more than 500,000 people visit for the festivals.
The mini antennas, known as small cells, are now delivering enhanced 4G capacity in high demand areas of the city. Small cells take advantage of existing street assets, such as BT’s iconic red telephone boxes, to help enhance street-level mobile coverage in busy areas where it’s impractical to build larger masts, such as city-centres and transport hubs.
In Edinburgh, EE has worked with partners including Edinburgh Council and Nokia to deploy small cells to boost capacity in busy locations including the Royal Mile, University of Edinburgh, Princes Street, Chambers Street and the National Museum, and the West End.
Responding to the news, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Visitors to the festival are increasingly using their smartphones for electronic ticketing, searching programme listings, booking tickets on the go, and navigating to the various venues.
“Many of these are things visitors will be able to do from the new official EdFringe app. People are also keen to share their experiences with friends and family and social media throughout the festival.
“All of this depends on having good access to mobile networks. It’s vital therefore that the city’s mobile networks can cope with this significant increase in demand during the summer. We welcome any steps like these new mini mobile masts to help boost network capacity in these busy locations.”
As well as being located on phone boxes, lamp-posts and CCTV columns, EE can also install small cells on BT’s innovative new digital Street Hubs.
James Hope, Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks at EE, said: “Edinburgh is a prime example of a city that can benefit from these small cell masts.
“The city is said to be built on seven hills and has plenty of old buildings, all of which pose a challenge to mobile coverage. It also sees huge peaks in mobile traffic in confined areas during major events. Small cells help customers continue to benefit from our fastest 4G speeds, even at the busiest times and in the most congested of locations.
“Our new digital Street Hubs also have the potential to help increase the number of small cells in the city. We’ll continue to discuss our plans with the council and we hope that Edinburgh will join other cities, such as Glasgow and Birmingham, where our new Street Hubs are already providing communities with the digital facilities needed for the future.”
14 mini masts are already live in Edinburgh, with four more sites to go live by the end of July. EE plans to deploy more small cell sites throughout the city in areas where it forecasts network congestion.
After eye-watering price hikes came into effect earlier this month, new Which? research has found that some Big Four mobile customers could save more than £200 a year by switching when their contract ends.
Using data from its most recent mobile survey, the consumer champion has calculated how much out-of-contract customers of the Big Four providers – EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone – could save by switching to Which?’s top pick of low, medium and high data deals.
Which?’s survey found that out-of-contract Big Four customers pay an average of £22.37 a month – significantly higher than the average £19.01 monthly bill across all providers – and in some cases could save more than £200 a year by switching away to cheaper deals.
When Which? checked this week, the consumer champion found a range of deals with highly-rated providers offering around low, medium and high data packages for under £14 a month – examples included Smarty’s 4GB for £5 deal and iD Mobile’s 200GB for £14 offer.
The average out-of-contract EE customer in the consumer champion’s survey pays £23.80 per month and could stand to make the biggest savings. By switching to Which?’s top low data pick – Smarty’s 4GB offer – they could potentially save £225.60 a year (£18.80 a month).
This is closely followed by out-of-contract Vodafone customers who pay an average of £22.20 per month according to Which?’s survey and could save £206.40 (£17.20 a month) by switching to Smarty’s 4GB offer.
Three and O2 customers would also stand to make significant savings. According to the consumer champion’s survey, out-of-contract Three and O2 customers pay an average of £21.50 a month and £21.30 a month respectively and could save £198 (£16.50 a month) and £195.60 (£16.30 a month) by switching to Smarty’s deal.
Big Four customers could also make significant savings by switching to Which?’s medium and high data picks – such as iD Mobile’s 20GB offer for £7 and iD Mobile’s 200GB offer for £14.
EE customers would again make the biggest savings – £201.60 a year (£16.80 a month) for switching to Which?’s medium data pick and £117.60 annually (£9.80 a month) for high data.
O2 customers would make the lowest savings – £171.60 a year (£14.30 a month) for medium data and £87.60 annually (£7.30 a month) for high data.
In the consumer champion’s recent mobile survey, over half (52%) said they only use up to 5GB a month – so many customers could make significant savings by switching to a cheap, low-data deal. With many providers pushing ahead with price hikes of up to 17 per cent, out-of-contract customers should switch quickly to cut costs.
However, not all customers can switch away so easily. Millions are trapped in a Catch-22 where they either have to accept price hikes of up to 17 per cent or pay exorbitant exit fees to leave the contract early. Which? has called on providers to allow all customers to leave without penalty if prices are hiked mid-contract but many are ploughing ahead with their existing plans regardless.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “Our findings show that some out-of-contract Big Four customers could save over £200 a year just by switching mobile providers. Anyone in that position should be thinking about making a switch or at least haggling for a much better deal from their current provider.
“However, millions will be trapped in costly contracts by exorbitant exit fees – and feeling the pain of eye-watering price increases of up to 17 per cent.
“Which? believes it’s absolutely critical that Ofcom’s review of inflation linked mid-contract hikes results in changes that ensure customers are never trapped in this situation again.”
How much EE customers could save
Out of contract EE customers pay the most on average, although those on bundled contracts may be eligible for a 10 per cent discount after being out of contract for three months.
EE out of contract survey average is £23.80 per month.
Low data pick: Smarty 4GB for £5 – potential savings of £18.80 per month
Medium data pick: iD Mobile 20GB for £7 – potential savings of £16.40 per month
High data pick: iD Mobile 200GB for £14 – potential savings of £9.80 per month
How much Three customers could save
Three does not apply any discount for out of contract customers, so they will continue to pay their full rate.
Three out of contract survey average is £21.50 per month.
Low data pick: Smarty 4GB for £5 – potential savings £16.50 per month
Medium data pick: iD Mobile 20GB for £7 – potential savings £14.50 per month
High data pick: iD Mobile 200GB for £14 – potential savings £7.50 per month
How much O2 customers could save
O2 offers split contracts, so the device and airtime parts of the contracts are charged separately. This means customers will not pay extra when their phone has been paid off, but it could still be worth shopping around for a cheaper Sim-only deal.
O2 out of contract survey average is £21.30 per month.
Low data pick: Smarty 4GB for £5 – potential savings £16.30 per month
Medium data pick: iD Mobile 20GB for £7 – potential savings £14.30 per month
High data pick: iD Mobile 200GB for £14 – potential savings £7.30 per month
How much Vodafone customers could save
Vodafone’s Evo customers will be in a similar situation to O2 customers, as their contracts are split. However, plenty of legacy customers – who joined Vodafone before Evo launched in June 2021 – will still be on bundled contracts and potentially paying extra.
Vodafone out of contract survey average is £22.20 per month.
Low data pick: Smarty 5GB for £4 – potential savings £17.20 per month
Medium data pick: iD Mobile 20GB for £7 – potential savings £15.20 per month
High data pick: iD Mobile 200GB for £14 – potential savings £8.20 per month
Right of replies
An EE spokesperson said:“We aim to make sure our customers are always on the best deal for them. We contact our customers near the end of their contract, and periodically while out of contract, to remind them of our latest deals. All out of contract EE customers are eligible for a 10% discount after being out of contract for three months.
“Customers can regularly track their data usage through the MyEE app. We’re the only network that makes sure you stay online and connected even when your monthly data allowance runs out, through our Stay Connected Data offering.”
Three declined to comment.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said:“Unlike the other mobile network operators, nearly a decade ago we launched contracts which automatically reduce customers’ bills as soon as they’ve finished paying for their handsets – so our customers are already saving big when their contract ends.
“This automatic saving is in addition to the host of benefits we offer to customers including inclusive EU Roaming and O2 Priority which offers exclusive rewards, unique experiences and daily perks, as well as Priority Tickets for thousands of gigs and events across the UK.”
Vodafone spokesperson said:“We encourage everyone to review their plan at the end of any contract so they can make sure they’re on the right deal for their needs – which often change over time. At the end of every contract period we notify our customers of the best value deals available, and can also support them in finding this online, over the phone and in stores.”
“We offer a wide range of great value packages and customers can save by bringing their mobile and broadband contracts to us – (up to £380 a year). Our loyalty programme Very Me gives customers a range of additional discounts on days out, discounts on takeaways, free coffees and more.”
EE is offering unlimited mobile data for NHS staff until 9th October 2020.
Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer Division, said: “We hope this gives NHS staff one less thing to worry about.
“They can keep in touch with friends and family and use the internet without worrying about using up their data. Along with the discount we already provide, this is a thank you from all of us at EE to those in the NHS that are working so hard for us all.”
All that NHS workers have to do is register online at www.ee.co.uk/nhs with a valid NHS email address to receive the new offer – this includes those staff already receiving discounts on their monthly mobile plans from EE. They’ll then receive a text message confirming that the unlimited data is on their account, until 9th October 2020.
This offer is being supported with a TV campaign featuring Kevin Bacon detailing the offer and thanking NHS workers on behalf of EE for all they are doing to support the country. The campaign will run on TV, video on demand (VOD) and social media from today.
EE and BT are doing all we can to increase our support for the NHS and are supporting with technology for hospitals, doctors and nurses, as well as connecting many of the temporary field hospitals around the country, including London’s NHS Nightingale Hospital.
BT has also made it possible for BT Sport customers to ask BT to give their monthly subscription credit to the NHS Charities Together for Covid-19 Urgent Appeal.
So far, an amazing £292,000 has been donated, and we thank those customers for their generosity.
