Thursday, 6 June 2024

Vodafone UK Takes COWs to the Fields

Like every operator, Vodafone UK has a variety of Cell On Wheels (COWs) that they take to special events where there may be a need for extra coverage and/or capacity. While we have a good number of posts looking at COWs (see related posts 👇), here is their short video explaining it:

Quoting from their news article earlier this year: 

Some of the UK’s best known and largest events, from music festivals and agricultural shows to leading events in the sporting calendar, will see the masts. Known as ‘Cells on Wheels’ (COWs), they will be wheeled onto site to deliver an outstanding network experience and to cope with the extra demand expected on the network.

With over 120 deployments planned, Vodafone’s fleet of COWs will be kept very busy throughout the year. Some events will receive more than one unit, depending on terrain, the size of the event area and estimated number of attendees.

The season started at Cheltenham Race Festival in March. Compared to last year, overall data usage at Cheltenham increased by nearly 10%, with 35% of all data carried over 5G.

In September 2023, Vodafone revealed that 5G data usage at special events was rapidly increasing, with customers using 80% more 5G data in 2023 compared to 2022. One of the busiest was Glastonbury 2023 where Vodafone deployed nine COWs. Over 168 terabytes of data was consumed across the event. Elsewhere, the King’s Coronation saw COWs being placed around Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. Data usage increased by around 90% compared to a typical Saturday in the capital.

A slightly more detailed video is ☝️ here while this detailed article from last year talks about the process:

Vodafone’s planning for any given event starts long before the organisers open their doors to the public; up to a year in advance for some city-sized. Surveying the site in question, requesting access from landowners and working out how to get lorry loads of equipment up narrow country roads – these are are serious logistical issues that can’t be left to chance.

Mobile signal at an event will be provided by one or more ‘cells on wheels’, or COWs. A COW is effectively a mobile mast – and its associated equipment – mounted on a trailer manned by a crew of three or four engineers. Setting up a COW can not only require a hoist, crane and/or cherry picker, but also the usual data links, power and a suitable location. This trifecta is tricky enough to secure under everyday circumstances in the UK’s villages, towns and cities – never mind the stadia, fields, valleys, shorelines and other unusual venues that host festivals and other such special events.

For festivals and shows that take place in remote rural locations, short-range microwave radios may be needed. These link the COW to the rest of Vodafone’s network as the usual fibre optic or copper cables often aren’t available or can’t be laid.

But such radio links need to be within line-of-sight of the next mast along to work, so locations need to be reasonably clear of obstructions such as trees and hills – obstructions that can also block the mobile signal from the mast once it’s operational.

While Vodafone may have the pick of locations at events that it has partnered with, that’s not always the case, with space at any given event in high demand for stages, retailers and of course the room needed for audiences and tents.

Powering the COW takes more than running a mere extension lead. If grid power isn’t available, then diesel generators are used. The generators then need to be carefully tended and guarded to ensure they continue working properly and aren’t ‘borrowed’ by either desperate or opportunistic third parties.

Getting a COW up-and-running in a surveyed location can take at least a day, often two to three days. But the work doesn’t stop once it’s powered on. Engineers carefully monitor and adjust the COW’s antennas and other equipment to ensure that it delivers the speeds and capacity that the public expect.

Frederic Sundin, Vodafone’s Head of Network Connectivity and Deployment explains: “You have stages in the way, depending on where the special event is, or it can be hilly, it can be trees. That can block the signal. And you need to predict where the crowds will be, because they move around.”

Vodafone’s engineers can draw upon analyses of traffic patterns in previous years when providing coverage at events that the company has been to before. But for new events or those that have relocated to new venues, responding quickly to unexpected events can be crucial.

For example, if there is a massive shift of people up a hill because they’re all watching and snapping/livestreaming the sunset, then engineers must be able to spot this and then actively optimise the network for such a sudden concentration of people in a small space.

The demands expectations of the public lie at the heart of why Vodafone provides mobile coverage at special events. “Festivals, summer events – the UK audience just love it. They flock to them. And, rightly so, they demand good coverage, a good experience,” Andrea, Vodafone’s Chief Network Officer in the UK said.

There is, of course, the other crowd at any given event – the organisers and the retailers. From ticketing to contactless payments, a variety of business processes now rely on mobile connectivity, not to mention first responders from the emergency services and event security.

If you spot a COW in a field near you, snap a picture and send it to us.

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