O2 UK (VMO2) has completed a unique trial in an extremely remote part of Wales, which successfully worked with Starlink’s network of ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Wavemobile to deploy a mobile broadband capable 4G signal to the area around the South Stack Lighthouse in Holyhead, Anglesey.
The trial, which was conducted in March 2023, saw Wavemobile deploy one of their portable outdoor small cells (made by Cellxica and capable of connecting up to 32 concurrent users) in the area above the South Stack Lighthouse, which is not currently covered by a viable mobile or fixed broadband service.
The small cell, which has an optimum range of up to 3km when using its favoured “low power spectrum” bands (we assume 800-900MHz for 4G), was then connected directly to one of Starlink’s terminals for backhaul (data capacity). After that, O2 provided the necessary mobile service.
“It’s easy to underestimate the power of connectivity in bringing friends and family together, especially when visiting remarkable places like South Stack, and we’re committed to making sure that as many people in the UK are able to stay connected as possible,”
“It’s easy to underestimate the power of connectivity in bringing friends and family together, especially when visiting remarkable places like South Stack, and we’re committed to making sure that as many people in the UK are able to stay connected as possible,” said a spokesperson for Virgin Media and O2. You can see a video of all this below.
Interestingly, this is the first time that we’ve heard about the trial, since it hasn’t previously been mentioned as part of VMO2’s prior work with Wavemobile. The two have conducted a number of other OpenRAN (O-RAN) style trials, such as on driverless cars, private mobile networks and for drones that can supply limited coverage to specific areas, but not previously anything quite like this one.
We have to give credit to TelcoTitans for spotting the obscure video on VMO2’s website, which was hidden away under their Innovation Hub and only published last month. However, it remains unclear whether O2 and Wavemobile now intend to jointly roll out this new service as part of a singular product for remote communities (note: Wavemobile aren’t limited to working with only O2), which would carry a fair cost given the use of Starlink’s premium business solution.
