Mobile Operators Brace For Royal Wedding Demand

Mobile operators are making emergency preparations to boost network capacity in Kate Middleton’s home village of Bucklebury, ahead of the royal wedding.

The normally-peaceful village in west Berkshire has a population of just over 2,000. However, on Friday it is expected that thousands of well-wishers, as well as the global media, will descend on the town, putting enormous pressure on mobile networks in the area.

Vodafone is reportedly installing portable 3G base stations near the village, to allow “at least double” the number of users to call, text, tweet and update their social networks simultaneously.

“Bucklebury is anticipating thousands of visitors and quite a few journalists on the day,” a Vodafone spokesman told The Telegraph. “We are working hard to be the most reliable network in that area.”

Rural 3G connectivity

Poor 3G connectivity is a common problem in rural areas of the UK, and one that many network operators are trying to solve. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year, for example, Femtocell maker Picochip unveiled its vision for putting an entire 3G cellular basestation on a USB dongle.

Femtocells – such as Vodafone’s Sure Signal – beef up 3G network strength in the home, using broadband for the uplink to the Internet, and have been touted as a way to solve the problem of 3G ‘not-spots’. Picochip claims that femtocells can also deliver faster data services, improve smartphone battery life and enable a variety of innovative ‘home zone’ services.

“It may sound incredible, but within a matter of months we’ll be able to fit a complete 3G basestation on a USB dongle,” said Rupert Baines, VP of Marketing at Picochip. “The last year has shown just how versatile femtocell technology is.”

Meanwhile, the communications regulator Ofcom has confirmed plans to raise the limit of 3G broadcasting power, allowing mobile operators to throw out a more powerful 3G signal, that should in turn provide better coverage and signal strength. The limit is to be upped by 3dBm, from 62dBm to 65dBm, meaning operators can increase the power of their transmitters from 1.5kW to 3kW.

London to receive 3G boost

However, it is not only rural areas that could struggle to cope with network demand during the royal wedding. Network operators are also increasing capacity around other key royal wedding sites, mostly in central London.

O2 and Vodafone both said they will install temporary mobile masts in St James’ Park and Hyde Park, and Vodafone also plans to double network capacity on Clapham Common in south London, where thousands will be watching the ceremony in front of big screens.

“Not only will people want to phone each other so they can meet up, but they will want to capture the event and share it with friends and family, so we expect to see a spike in demand as people upload photos to Facebook and check up on Twitter,” said the Vodafone spokesperson.