NEW mobile ‘mini-masts’ have been installed by EE on street furniture like lampposts and phone boxes in Newquay to help boost mobile coverage in the busiest parts of the town.

The mini antennas, known as small cells, are now delivering enhanced 4G capacity in high-demand areas of the town. The extra antennas mean that customers can take advantage of download speeds of up to 300Mbps, even at the busiest times.

Small cells take advantage of existing street assets such as lamp posts and CCTV columns, as well 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.

EE has worked with partners including Nokia to deploy small cells to boost capacity in busy locations including Newquay train station, the Bank Street shopping area, Newquay Bus Station and Beach Road.

James Hope, Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks, EE: "As demand for data continues to rise, small cells are becoming an increasingly integral part of our mobile network.

"Our partnership with Nokia ensures customers continue to benefit from our fastest 4G speeds even at the busiest times and in the most congested of locations, and we’re proud to pass another milestone in this project as we continue to invest in improving the UK’s best mobile network* up and down the country."

EE’s continued network investment will see more small cells deployed in the coming months, both in existing and new towns and cities.

EE is also trialling the extension of small cells to accommodate its 5G network, with Nokia’s AirScale portfolio able to upgrade to 5G.