Mobile operator also tripling capacity of its 4G network to cater for high demand for data at this weekend’s event
EE will provide visitors to Glastonbury Festival this weekend with 4G WiFi located in hedge-like structures.
The festival’s alternative ‘4GEE hedgeliners’ are shaped as The Pyramid Stage, The Park Tower and the Arcadia Spider – social media’s most shared iconic landmarks from last year’s event.
They will incorporate the latest 4G WiFi technology from the mobile operator and will enable users to log on and upload festival memories in ‘superfast’ time.
Using ‘Cradlepoint Advanced Edge Routing (AER) Series’ – which is designed for easy set up in remote locations, especially where wired connectivity isn’t available – multiple users can log on to the hotspots at the same time and enjoy instant uploading.
The 4G WiFi hotspots are available to all from 10am until 10pm Thursday to Sunday and will be placed in popular locations around the site to allow revellers on any mobile network to login with the password provided.
Tripling network capacity
EE has invested in what it says is a 4G network capable of supporting large amounts of data at the festival.
This includes adding a sixth temporary mobile antenna unit to increase coverage and capacity, identifying optimum locations for all six mobile sites to deliver 4G coverage to all areas, reviewing congestion graphs from 2015 to optimise capacity for this weekend and tripling 4G spectrum capacity, adding 35MHz of 2600MHz spectrum to the existing 20MHz of 1800MHz spectrum.
It is also implementing 4G Calling, deploying the full EE portfolio of 2G and 3G spectrum and installing backhaul capacity to provide an optimum data experience.
EE brand director Spencer McHugh said: “We are already tripling the capacity of our 4G network on site to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for data we see at big events, and the addition of these selfie-friendly hotspots, showcasing our latest 4G technology, will give everyone on site the chance to share their pictures and videos seamlessly.”