Small cells to boost mobile capacity in London 

Boldyn Networks and EE partner on network of street-level boosters in King’s Cross and will expand across the capital over the next two years 

King’s Cross railway station in London is one of the UK’s busiest stations, with nearly 70m passengers each year. That number of people obviously places a huge demand on surrounding mobile networks. To address this, Boldyn and EE have deployed some ingenious tech. 

Photo by Never House

‘Small cells’ are low-powered cellular radio units which can enhance network capacity. The first new small cells are already live at King’s Cross, powered by brand new gigabit fibre. The partnership claims that these can achieve download speeds of up to 300Mbps, or up to 10 times faster than in high-demand areas at present.  

The initial phase of the project is focused on King’s Cross and Euston but will expand over the next two years to include other areas of London including Southwark and Westminster. 

Boldyn already has a 20-year concession agreement with Transport for London (TfL) to provide mobile connectivity on underground sections of the Tube, Elizabeth Line and Docklands Light Railway (DLR). This will use existing TfL fibre ducts, lighting columns and bus shelters – as well as other pre-existing assets – to host the small cell units. 

Since most of the needed fibre ducts are already in place, the hope is that roll-out of the small cells will create minimal reduction, with reduced carbon emissions and environmental impact given the relatively low use of materials such as plastic. 

Paul Osborne, Chief Commercial Officer, UK & Ireland, Boldyn Networks, says: ‘We are excited to announce this first step with EE to boost mobile network capacity and performance for EE’s customers in some of the busiest high street locations across the capital. 

‘This perfectly complements our work bringing 4G/5G to the London Underground and Elizabeth line, ensuring millions of people travelling through London to live, work and play have good high speed mobile connectivity both above and below ground.’ 

James Hope, Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks at EE, adds: ‘We’re delighted to partner with Boldyn Networks to boost mobile performance for customers in London’s thriving King’s Cross area. Small cells are essential in delivering high-capacity, superfast mobile connectivity to areas where it’s impractical to build larger sites, and by making use of TfL’s existing street infrastructure, we’re able to deploy with minimal disruption even in such a dense, urban environment.’ 

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