Bringing 5G and improved 4G to a shopping centre the size of 30 football pitches was no easy task.
Trafford Centre in Manchester, one of the largest retail and entertainment spaces in the country, turned 25 years old in 2023. The centre has endeared itself to countless visitors over that time and is now even better equipped to do so thanks to improvements from Vodafone and its connectivity partners.
The challenge
As a popular shopping and leisure destination, visitor numbers to the Trafford Centre continue to grow, attracting roughly 500,000 visitors a week to its 200 shops and services, such as Europe’s largest food-court, The Orient. The centre is also a place of work for more than 10,000 people.
As the centre continues to grow, and visitor numbers continue to increase, so does the demand on connectivity.
However, when you have a footprint of 2.2 million sq ft – equivalent in size to more than 30 football pitches – ensuring both visitors and businesses have strong and reliable coverage is a critical, if not challenging, task.
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Building the coverage
Which is where Vodafone steps in. Along with infrastructure partner, Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG), Vodafone UK has installed 5G across the Orient food court. It now has a dedicated, tailor-made system, so visitors can access ultrafast Vodafone 5G without interruption.
As a result, businesses based in and around the site can take advantage of 5G’s real-time connectivity speeds. Meanwhile, 4G has been improved across the wider Trafford Centre – including the centre’s own management suites.
The improvements didn’t come without their challenges, however. Due to the sheer size of the centre, Wireless Infrastructure Group needed to install 180 radio antennas across the centre, which was divided into 12 separate sectors, all linked together using 16km (10mi) of fibre optic cabling. That’s enough to stretch from Trafford Centre to Stockport.
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These aren’t the only impressive figures, however. Vodafone has since seen data usage soar, with customers over the summer using enough overall data to send the equivalent of around 81 billion WhatsApp messages.
Meanwhile, the centre’s onsite team are using the improved connectivity across their business devices to maintain, log and monitor safety or cleaning incidents, as well as guest service requests. All of which helps them to make better operational decisions now and in the future.
Happy party people
“We’re delighted with the mobile connectivity that Vodafone and Wireless Infrastructure Group have implemented across Trafford Centre,” says Simon Layton, Centre Director at Trafford Centre.
“As one of the UK’s largest premier retail and leisure destinations, it’s essential that our visitors and businesses can rely on strong, uninterrupted mobile coverage. The introduction of Vodafone’s 5G, particularly in the Great Hall, ensures we meet the growing digital needs of our visitors, retailers and staff.
Trafford Centre opened its doors
after more than two years of construction
27 mths
Titanic's Oscars haul
was in the same month as the opening of Trafford Centre
11 wins
birthday of Vodafone's 'Pay as you Talk' which would eventually become Pay As You Go
1st
“The improvements across Trafford Centre means it’s now future-proofed when it comes to the expected demand on its future data usage,” adds Adrian Corthine, who leads Vodafone’s National In-Building Coverage Team in the UK.
“The improved Vodafone 4G will ensure visitors have the strong and reliable coverage they rely on, while businesses have the connectivity to support business tools such as ePOS and digital marketing campaigns.
“We’re particularly excited to see our 5G go live. Businesses in and around the Orient food court can now use the technology to explore new applications that can best serve their customers. This could mean anything from introducing virtual reality (VR) promotions to managing customer orders in peak hours and real-time stock controls.”
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“We are proud to be partnering with Vodafone again, this time to improve both the visitor experience and retailer operations at Trafford Centre, one of the UK’s biggest and busiest shopping malls,” comments Craig Birchenough, CEO Indoor Networks, at Wireless Infrastructure Group. “Our connectivity solutions help deliver seamless mobile coverage, allowing venue owners and businesses to benefit from cutting-edge mobile services, including 5G.”
Trafford Centre is one of several shopping centres where Vodafone coverage has been improved, with other locations including Battersea, Westfield Stratford, Westfield White City and Leeds Trinity.
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