London, UK, 9th February – Mobile connectivity in North Wales has taken a significant step forward with the region’s first O2 4G and 5G small cell sites now live in Flintshire. The new sites, delivered by connectivity infrastructure provider Ontix on behalf of O2, are enhancing mobile coverage and increasing data speeds for residents, businesses, and visitors.

O2 and Ontix have partnered to deploy 4G and 5G small cells across Flintshire, including at Deeside Industrial Park, one of the biggest industrial clusters in the UK, demonstrating a joint commitment to supporting UK industry and businesses. The small cells will enable improved productivity and boost the local economy.

With the extra capacity provided by these small cells, O2 customers can expect more reliable mobile connectivity for everyday calls and online access. Local businesses will benefit from steadier, more resilient connectivity, helping them stay connected with customers and operate effectively during busy periods.

Richard Williams, Director of Acquisition at Ontix, said: “Deeside is one of Europe’s largest industrial parks and it is a thriving hub of industry and innovation. By boosting vital network connectivity today, O2 and Ontix are supporting the growth of UK industries tomorrow.”

Steven Verigotta, Director of Mobile Delivery at O2, said: “Our Mobile Transformation plan is all about ensuring our customers receive a reliable network experience in the moments that matter most. These new small cells will provide extra capacity to the growing Deeside Industrial Park, providing a boost to the businesses based there and to the local economy.”

This deployment has been enabled by support from Flintshire County Council, which provided Ontix with access to its streetlighting columns for hosting the equipment.

The achievement follows work led by Ambition North Wales, via its 4G+ digital project, to help councils across the region introduce ‘Open Access Agreements’ – making their infrastructure available to telecommunications companies, like O2. 

Councillor Richard Jones, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transformation Growth and Place, Flintshire County Council, said: “The Council welcomes this investment by O2 and Ontix and is pleased to have worked with them and with Ambition North Wales to make public assets available to improve mobile connectivity, a first for North Wales. 

These upgrades are part of O2’s Mobile Transformation Plan, which is focused on expanding 4G and 5G coverage, a dedicated small cells rollout to boost capacity, and innovative solutions to address persistent network pain points, including along railway lines, at airports, on motorways, and in stadiums and arenas.

Last year, O2 announced that it had agreed a deal with Vodafone UK to acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum, bringing the operator’s total spectrum holding to approximately 30% of UK mobile spectrum and materially enhancing the company’s network position. The operator is deploying this newly acquired spectrum across the country, which will drive a better network experience for its customers.

O2 was recently recognised as the most improved mobile network across Europe in Umlaut Connect’s Mobile Network Test, an independent and comprehensive benchmarking report.