A new, interactive map has been unveiled to help local residents and businesses uncover which of the UK’s main providers offer high-speed (4G and 5G) mobile phone signals across Gedling borough.
Thanks to one of the biggest, continuous mobile signal collection exercises the county has ever seen, maps are now available to search for where the strongest mobile phone signals are at street level within the borough – and also Nottinghamshire.
You can see the map HERE
The new maps have been created by Nottinghamshire County Council with funding from the project coming from the Local Government Association as a part of a programme known as Digital Pathfinders.
Data used in the map was collected by local council bin collection lorries that were fitted special monitoring devices to help map out millions of sets of mobile phone signals, namely 4G and 5G.
At the same time household waste and recycling was being collected, so were thousands of readings of real-time mobile signals.
The council said that no personal data was collected, just the strength of the signals from different providers.
Current mobile phone coverage information doesn’t always accurately reflect the reality at street level, as there’s evidence that coverage can vary within the same village or neighbourhood.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, Councillor Keith Girling explains why these maps are so important.
“Many residents need a strong mobile signal for things like accessing health care services, operating smart meters, electric vehicle charging and even on-line shopping, especially for those who may not be able to get out and about,” he said.
“This project will help us to identify where improvements and action are needed, especially in rural areas where there may be potential gaps in coverage.”
Cllr Alex Coley, the Local Government Association’s digital spokesperson, said: “We are delighted to have supported Nottinghamshire’s innovative project to map 4G and 5G coverage through our Digital Pathfinders programme.
“Supporting councils to create digitally-equipped places is one of three core missions in our recently launched Local Government Digitalisation Framework and is echoed in our call to establish a local government centre for digital technology.”
