21 Feb 2017

EE unveils rapid response vehicles for ESN coverage

Today (21 February) at the Kia Oval stadium EE displayed one of a fleet of 32 4x4 rapid response vehicles (RRVs) that will be used to provide temporary coverage for the Emergency Services Network in the event of flooding, power outages and other incidents that could knock out part of its permanent 4G coverage infrastructure. The fleet will be stationed around the country near the small number of areas which are served by single sites rather than overlapping coverage, to meet the requirement of bringing ESN coverage back up within three hours.

The vehicles, which are equipped with 11.5 metre tall masts, can provide coverage at either 800 MHz or 1,800 MHz, depending on whether coverage or capacity is more important. The in-vehicle coverage solution takes less than 30 minutes to set up and the RRVs are equipped with 2kW diesel generators and an uninterruptable power supply fed by 10 minutes of battery cover. It is envisaged that the vehicles could be deployed for up to three days at a time.

Within the stadium, EE flew both an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a basestation and antenna that could be used to provide targeted coverage and a helikite, which is equipped with a 5W small cell solution from Nokia. The latter will be used to provide wide area 4G mobile coverage where permanent sites have been damaged or in areas where there is no 4G coverage and can stay up for weeks at a time.