Vodafone has installed fast 4G in phone boxes on the beachfronts of Cornish towns Polzeath and Sennen Cove, ahead of an influx of visitors this Easter weekend and the summer months after that.
The phone boxes have been installed due to the increased amount of mobile usage that the tourism industry causes. During the 2018 summer heatwave, Vodafone’s Cornwall network carried nearly 90 per cent more mobile internet traffic than in 2017.
According to Vodafone’s network status checker, 4G signal strength in Polzeath is ‘good outdoors only’, but this is subject to fluctuations as people stay in the area over the warmer months.
The ‘4G from a phone box’ service allows smartphone usage within approximately a 200-metre radius, as well as usage of a range of Vodafone’s connected devices, including the V-Pet tracker which helps locate lost pets.
Vodafone UK CTO Scott Petty said: “Improved mobile coverage in rural areas helps the local economy, keeps people connected, and above all, offers reassurance at times when you just have to make that call.
“But it can be challenging to deliver. That is why we are in the final stages of presenting to Government our industry-wide blueprint for improving mobile coverage. It is also why we are looking at innovative ways of extending coverage, such as making use of phone boxes.”