Our mobile phone services rely on a network of 96,500 base station sites to send and receive voice calls and other mobile services, such as text messages, emails, pictures, internet, TV and downloads.
We aim to provide good coverage for our customers – whether they are in the countryside, in towns or within buildings. Many factors must be balanced when planning our network deployment to improve coverage and capacity, including technical considerations, community concerns and visual impact. These challenges required careful consideration and debate before a decision is taken. We also cooperate with other network operators to share sites and limit the overall number of base station sites needed.
Most people welcome improved coverage and services. But we recognise that expanding our network can sometimes cause concern, usually about the visual impact of base stations or health issues concerning radio frequency (RF) fields. Where appropriate we consult with local people to help us understand and address any concerns they may have.
Our network rollout is, at present, mainly focused on emerging markets, where we are expanding our business. Indeed, only 20% of our newly built base stations are located in developed markets and these were installed due to capacity demands rather than to increase coverage. We are currently looking at reducing the overall number of base stations through the optimisation of our established networks. This enables us to adapt to evolving technology, network sharing and changing assumptions about which locations need most capacity. We use our experience in mature markets to use proven best practices when planning new networks. Innovative techniques being trialled in emerging markets can also be used in mature markets to increase efficiency.
