Big mobile network upgrade in Westminster
Key Points
- O2 has installed 24 new small cells across Westminster.
- The units boost capacity for calls, texts and mobile data in high-demand spots.
- Small cells attach to street furniture, avoiding Westminster's planning constraints.
- O2 now runs more than 2,500 small cell sites nationwide, the most of any UK network.
- The rollout sits within O2's £700 million Mobile Transformation Plan for 2026.
O2 has installed 24 new small cells across Westminster, adding capacity to one of London’s busiest boroughs.
The compact units sit in high-demand locations and will make it easier for customers to make calls, send messages and use mobile data on the borough’s busiest streets. Residents, businesses, commuters, tourists and visitors all stand to benefit.
Small cells are discreet mobile units that fit onto existing street furniture such as lamp posts. That makes them well suited to Westminster, where conservation protections and additional planning controls can hold up larger infrastructure.
By adding targeted capacity at street level, the units take pressure off the wider network and lift connectivity in crowded public spaces, from city centres and transport hubs to commercial districts and visitor hotspots.
The Westminster rollout builds on O2’s wider small cells programme. The operator now runs more small cells than any other UK mobile network, with over 2,500 sites live nationwide, including in Bath, Plymouth, Bristol, Swansea and Guildford.
“Westminster is one of the busiest places in the country, so it is no surprise that mobile demand is extremely high,” said Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2.
“These small cells are a simple but effective way to add extra capacity exactly where people need it, helping customers stay connected on some of the capital’s busiest streets.”
“This is about making sure the network keeps pace with how people use their phones every day and is exactly the kind of targeted upgrade our £700 million Mobile Transformation Plan is designed to deliver,” Joyce added.
The upgrades form part of that plan, which will see O2 invest roughly £700 million this year across new masts, small cells, 4G and 5G upgrades and fresh spectrum.
The operator has pointed to record demand as the driver, with mobile traffic more than doubling over the past five years.
