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Our mobile services rely on a network of thousands of base station sites to send and receive calls and data.
The network continues to expand as we extend coverage in emerging markets and improve capacity for new services in developed markets. We are working to reduce the overall number of base stations needed to achieve the desired coverage by deploying innovative technical solutions and cooperating with other operators to share sites.
When choosing a base station site, we must balance many, often conflicting, factors – including technical considerations, community concerns and visual impact. Most people welcome improved coverage and services. But we recognise some have concerns about the location of new base stations, which we aim to understand and address through community consultation.
Some people are also concerned about potential health issues relating to radio frequency fields and we have a dedicated website on mobile phones, masts and health to address these concerns, with links to independent scientific reviews.
Our Group Responsible Network Deployment Policy sets our consistent standards for all our markets in six key areas: legal compliance, environmental impact, radio frequency emissions, site planning and selection, communication and consultation, and landlord relationships. Accompanying guidelines share best practice and help each market adapt the Group policy to local needs.
The policy and guidelines also apply to contractors and their subcontractors, who carry out much of the work involved in network deployment – from the planning and acquisition of sites to the construction and maintenance of base stations. Contractor compliance is a priority and we have an audit programme in place to monitor contractors’ performance in the key area of health and safety.
When selecting base station sites, we always aim to comply with local planning regulations. However, in some markets, complex local and national planning regulations (sometimes conflicting) mean it can take up to 18 months to obtain local permits for individual sites. Vodafone’s national operator licences often require coverage to be expanded sooner. As a result, some base stations may not have a local permit (see data on violations of planning regulations). All our base station sites are designed and built to comply with international and local safety guidelines regardless of whether they are licensed as part of local or regional planning regimes.
In many countries we have signed up to recognised codes of conduct for responsible network deployment, in partnership with other service providers, local authorities, governments and consumer associations. They include:
| Local market | Local Codes of Conduct |
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| Germany |
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| Ireland |
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| Netherlands |
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| New Zealand |
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| Portugal |
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| Spain |
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| UK |
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We want to roll out our network quickly, but community consultation is vital and can take time. We aim to balance technical considerations with community concerns, which can conflict. For example, higher masts can sometimes improve coverage but can also have greater visual impact.
Clear communication is key to alleviating concerns by keeping communities informed of plans. Training and information packs aim to help employees respond to questions clearly and openly.
The type of consultation we carry out depends on local regulations and public attitudes – what is acceptable in one country may not be in others. When people do raise objections to planned base stations, we listen and accommodate their views as far as possible.
| Community considerations | Technical considerations |
|---|---|
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We use a range of base station designs to ensure we can choose the most suitable for each situation and blend in with the local environment. Each base station consists of antennas that emit and receive radiofrequency signals, a supporting structure and a cabinet to house network equipment.
Some are purpose built, some use masts shared with other operators and some are placed on existing structures such as rooftops or lamp posts. Some local communities prefer a bespoke design such as a tree mast to disguise the base station, while other communities prefer a discreetly sited standard design.
Examples of best practice for reducing visual impact are included in our guidelines on responsible network deployment. These include:
A base station at a mosque in Qatar
Antenna disguised as a palm tree in Egypt
More than 60% of base station sites across the Group are shared with other networks. By cooperating with other operators to share sites, we can accelerate the deployment of our network, limit the total number of sites required to provide coverage and cut costs by up to 25%. Energy use and environmental impacts are reduced, making site sharing an important element of our strategy to improve network efficiency (see eco-efficiency).
Sharing sites also relieves pressure on planning authorities because there are fewer sites to review, and helps us respond to communities’ desire to reduce the need for additional structures in their area. However, we recognise that we must also take into consideration that shared sites can raise other concerns because they are often larger and therefore more noticeable.
The majority of our network sharing is ‘passive’ – sharing the site and infrastructure such as poles and air conditioning units (see diagram). ‘Active’ network sharing arrangements – where radio equipment is also shared – are much more difficult to agree due to technical issues and the need to establish a high level of trust between competitor operators. In some cases, licence agreements also require separate radio equipment to preserve full competition between operators.
