Ian Newbury, Business Development Director at BT Wholesale, describes how small cells can support greener and more sustainable technology infrastructure and facilitate a better digital future for everyone
Speak to anyone working in the sector today, and it is clear that promoting digital inclusion and achieving a decarbonised future are among the key aims of most local authorities.
From connecting communities to businesses unlocking smarter ways of working, meeting these goals requires greater connectivity – and this is where small cells have an important role to play.
What are small cells?
Small cells are mobile radio cells that help to provide greater network coverage and connectivity in densely populated areas, where it is often impractical to install larger mobile masts or where an offloading capability is required (such as cities or shopping centres).
As well as improving mobile coverage, small cells can help support greener technology solutions for cities and their residents. This infrastructure can also work towards tackling digital inequality by unlocking the benefits of better connectivity for more people.
Take the work BT has done with Leeds City Council to make it the largest gigabit and 5G-capable city outside of London. Allowing highly dense mobile coverage networks to be built out in urban areas, the project aims to address real economic needs in society and deliver on the sustainability promises of super-connected smart cities.
Working together to connect for good
Connectivity can help drive a better digital future for everyone. But achieving these goals requires local authorities and mobile network operators (MNOs) to work closely together.
One example is partnering to boost mobile coverage in city centres with shared network models – where two or more MNOs share new or existing network infrastructure. This approach provides connectivity to customers of different networks, and by sharing active components such as antennae and transceivers, and passive infrastructure like towers, it is significantly more cost-effective and energy efficient.
BT Wholesale works with local authorities to reuse existing infrastructure, avoiding the expense and carbon footprint of building something from the ground up.
As part of BT Group, sustainability is in our DNA; we have pledged to become a net zero emissions business by the end of March 2031 for our operations and by the end of March 2041 for our supply chain and customers’ emissions.
Smart cities: Paving the way for the future
By providing the necessary infrastructure and working to deploy and manage small cell networks, BT’s ambition is to enable its local authority partners to build greener, more inclusive places to live.
Smart cities are a vital part of this. Using Internet of Things (IoT) technology – connected sensors, devices, and applications – to gather information, employing analytics to understand it, and connectivity to deliver actionable insights needs a high-capacity, resilient network. And a network of small cells can help provide the rock-solid digital foundation for this IoT technology.
Unlocking smart cities can enhance communities socially. For example, data from existing projects has shown that areas benefit from a 25% decrease in crime rate due to AI prediction and detection on CCTV and a 20% reduction in waste collection using bin sensors which inform fill rate.
Embracing smart city technology can also help meet sustainability targets, with past projects using air quality sensors to inform measures that led to a 44% reduction in nitrous oxide and vehicle telemetry, which helped lead to a 15% reduction in fuel consumption.
BT Wholesale prides itself on its unparalleled small cells expertise, and working with MNOs, local authorities, and other industry partners, we are working towards better deployment of this technology across the UK.
With this cost-effective, energy-efficient connectivity, we are proud to stand alongside local authorities as they build more sustainable, inclusive communities.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
