EE launches 'air mast' blimp to beam mobile signals over rural Britain

Britain's biggest mobile operator EE is preparing to launch a mobile mast suspended from a helium blimp as part of its effort to improve coverage.

The first "air mast" is due to be deployed later this year, the BT-owned operator said. The patent-pending blimps are being developed as a way to fill in gaps in the network when ground-based masts are out of action, or to boost capacity for major events.

EE sponsors the Glastonbury festival, for instance, and provides a temporary network capable of serving tens of thousands of fans at the rural site during the event.

The operator said air masts could also play a role in filling in gaps in its network on a more permanent basis where rough terrain and negotiations with landlords make traditional masts less effective or slow to build. The blimps are capable of beaming signals over an area with a 4km radius, it added.

EE has committed to providing a 4G signal to 92pc of UK landmass by the end of this year as part of a deal with Government to replace the communications network relied upon by the emergency services. It is targeting 95pc coverage by 2020.

Alongside its air mast blimps, EE also unveiled a new drone-based mast that could be deployed even more quickly to provide coverage in to a small area in emergency situations.

Chief executive Marc Allera said: " Rural parts of the UK provide more challenges to mobile coverage than anywhere else, so we have to work harder there – developing these technologies will ultimately help our customers, even in the most hard to reach areas."

"In the future, why couldn’t an event organiser request a temporary EE capacity increase in a rural area, or a climber going up Ben Nevis order an EE aerial coverage solution to follow them as they climb?"

The company's emergency services contract, the first of its kind in the world, will replace a bespoke radio network called Airwave.

The first regional authorities are due to begin moving to the 4G-based service next year. The complex project has already slipped by a few months, although EE said it is confident it will deliver its coverage obligations on schedule.