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UK mobile network infrastructure, technicals insights and benchmarking.

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Royal Welsh Show 2025 (BLOG)

Mobile connectivity at the Royal Welsh Show 2025. Mast deployments and benchmarking from my visit.

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MBNL Infrastructure

Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL) manages the passive infrastructure for EE and Three UK. Below is a catalogue of common structure types.

1. Monopoles

Phase 4 Monopole

Commonly found in suburban areas. Supports 4G/5G setups with separate active antenna configurations.

Hutchison Estate Pole

Legacy design often upgraded for LTE 1800/2100. Limited wind load capacity.

Standard Streetpole

Typical 15m street furniture supporting integrated antenna shrouds.

2. Street Cabinets

Nokia Flexi

Outdoor modular base station units used extensively by EE.

Ericsson RBS 6000

Standard high-capacity cabinet found at Three UK sites.

CTIL Infrastructure

Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited (CTIL) manages the passive infrastructure for Vodafone and O2 (VMO2).

1. Monopoles

Beacon 2 Design

Modern consolidated site design supporting heavy active antenna units for 5G Massive MIMO.

Phone Box Integration

Stealth site integrated into legacy phone box structures for high-street density.

2. Street Cabinets

Harris Cabinet

Legacy secure enclosure often housing 2G/3G equipment.

Eltek Power

Power supply unit (PSU) managing AC/DC conversion for the site.

Royal Welsh Show 2025: Deployment Analysis

Date: July 2025 | Author: Ryan

I visited the Royal Welsh Showground to benchmark the temporary and permanent network infrastructure deployed to handle the massive amounts of visitors. Below is the technical breakdown of the sites found.

Site Details & Spectrum Analysis

Operator eNB / Site ID Vendor Height Spectrum Configuration (Bands & BW)
EE 32257 Nokia 15m 2G: GSM 1800
4G: LTE 2600 (20MHz) + LTE 2600 (15MHz) + LTE 2100 (20MHz) + LTE 1800 (20MHz) + LTE 1800 (20MHz)
5G: NR 3500 (40MHz)
Three 53404 & 53405 Ericsson ~20m 4G: LTE 1500 (20MHz) + LTE 2100 (15MHz) + LTE 1800 (20MHz) + LTE 800 (5MHz) + LTE 700 (10MHz)
5G: NR 3500 (100MHz) + NR 3500 (40MHz)
Vodafone 13238 - 19m 2G: GSM 900
4G: LTE 2600 (20MHz) + LTE 2100 (15MHz) + LTE 900 (10MHz) + LTE 800 (10MHz)
5G: NR 3500 (50MHz)

Note: O2 could not be tested during the visit. CellMapper suggests LTE 2100+1800+800, 5G presence is unconfirmed.

Operator Deployments

EE
EE Mast

Deployment Notes

EE has a fixed installation located adjacent to the main ring. It is a very high configuration site using Nokia RAN.

  • Site backhaul appears to be Optical Fibre due to the lack of microwave presence.
  • The site appears to utilise 3x Andrew RRZZHHTT-65A-R6H4 passive antennas and 3x Nokia AirScale AEQQ active antennas.
Site location on Google Maps

Average Observed Performance

EE Speedtest Screenshot

Maximum (Mbps): 384 ↓ / 102 ↑

Average (Mbps): 195 ↓ / 78 ↑

Lowest (Mbps): 62 ↓ / 36 ↑

Three UK
3 Mast

Deployment Notes

Three UK are operating a CoW (Cell on Wheels) positioned on the edge of the showground near the A470.

  • Backhaul appears to be relayed from the Cilmary car park via a temporary lattice tower with two microwave links. I am not aware of the mast providing backhaul for the relay site.
  • Antennas appear to be 3x RZVV-65A-R4, 3x Andrew 6V-10M-F6, 4x AIR 3278 & 1x AIR 3258.
Site location on Google Maps

Average Observed Performance

Three UK Speedtest Screenshot

Maximum (Mbps): 612 ↓ / 71 ↑

Average (Mbps): 425 ↓ / 56 ↑

Lowest (Mbps): 345 ↓ / 45 ↑

Vodafone O2
VF/O2 Mast

Deployment Notes

Vodafone and O2 share a mast located at the top right corner of the showground, close to the A483.

  • Backhaul appears to be Optical Fibre (for both operators) due to the lack of microwave links.
  • Vodafone's antennas appear to consist of 1x CCI MBA9F-K3A and 1x CCI MBA9F-KE3A. Active antennas are unrecognised.
  • O2's antennas appear to consist of 1x CCI MBA9F-K3A and 1x CCI MBA9F-KE3A. Active antennas are unrecognised.
Site location on Google Maps

Average Observed Performance

Vodafone/O2 Speedtest Screenshot

Maximum (Mbps): 104 ↓ / 6 ↑

Average (Mbps): 11 ↓ / 3 ↑

Lowest (Mbps): 0.20 ↓ / 1.5 ↑

Antenna Overview

Operator Passive Antenna(s) Active Antenna(s)
EE 3x Andrew RRZZHHTT-65A-R6H4 3x Nokia AirScale AEQQ
Three 3x RZVV-65A-R4 + 3x Andrew 6V-10M-F6 4x AIR 3278 & 1x AIR 3258
Vodafone 1x CCI MBA9F-K3A + 1x CCI MBA9F-KE3A Unknown
O2 1x CCI MBA9F-K3A + 1x CCI MBA9F-KE3A Unknown