NET CS complete another landmark church site within London

Posted on November 25, 2024 by - Mobile Coverage, Mobile News, Uncategorized

NET CS completed another landmark church site within London.

The Grade 1 listed Sir Christopher Wren church, a landmark within Holborn now provides 4G and 5G cellular services as well as services to the local business and parish community.

St Andrew Holborn, a site for worship for over a 1,000 years was chosen as a potential location to house mobile operators’ equipment and antennas due to a requirement to relocate from a nearby building.

With the critical support of Cornerstone, Vodafone, Virgin Media O2, St Andrew’s PCC, the Diocese of London and the CofE national telecoms team, NET CS set about designing and securing all the necessary CofE, PCC, Diocese, LPA and Chancellor approvals.

Upon legal completion, NET CS completed the passive and active installation. The church now hosts Vodafone and Virgin Media O2 equipment and antennas which have been sympathetically installed internally within the Baroque style church tower.

The antennas are mounted behind bespoke replacement replica GRP louvres completed by NETGRP to ensure there is no visual impact on this historic building.

Proactive Infrastructure Solutions

Posted on November 25, 2024 by - Mobile Coverage, Mobile News, Uncategorized

As infrastructure inevitably ages, regular assessment and inspection become crucial. 

At NET CS, we pride ourselves on delivering proactive investigative and preventative services for our clients.

Our dedicated team continuously expands its expertise, staying ahead of industry trends and ensuring the highest standards of service.

If you believe we can assist you in achieving your infrastructure goals, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Watch our video here .

 

NET Group receives UKAS Accreditation

Posted on September 18, 2024 by - Uncategorized

NET Group, including NET CS is delighted to announce its UKAS accreditation through Alcumus, one of the most recognised UKAS-accredited certification bodies.

A special thanks to Peter Kirkham, our SHEQ Manager, for his tireless efforts over the past four months to achieve this milestone.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole body appointed by the government to assess the capability and competence of organisations providing services such as certification, testing, inspection, calibration, validation, and verification.

The ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management certification demonstrates NET Group’s ambition and commitment to quality through continuous improvement across all business aspects. This certification assures that our organisation complies with international business practices and standards, while enhancing processes to meet the evolving needs of our employees and customers.

The ISO 14001:2015 Environmental certification underscores our dedication to sustainability. NET Group actively works to minimise our environmental impact, supporting efforts to reduce waste and carbon emissions in alignment with our ESG and CSR commitments.

The ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety certification reflects NET Group’s pride in maintaining a robust health and safety management system. This accreditation ensures the health, safety, and well-being of our employees, those affected by our activities, and anyone working closely with us, helping us manage risks and improve business performance for all.

As a team, NET Group has dedicated significant effort to delivering high-quality service to our clients. These accreditations will help us maintain this standard.

Parish churches come to the fore in the fight against mobile not-spots

Posted on July 22, 2022 by - Uncategorized

NET CS, in collaboration with the Church of England and Vodafone, has successfully brought mobile coverage to 11 remote locations in the UK through our NETRAN solution. These initial 11 sites had little to no existing mobile coverage, which left the local communities isolated.

Our NETRAN sites are fully vendor neutral and can accommodate all four Mobile Network Operators. This versatile approach creates abundant opportunities to provide the previously unconnected population with much-needed network coverage. Leveraging the advantages of modern RF equipment, which boasts a smaller physical footprint, we have engineered a cost-effective, streamlined, and rapid deployment solution that is sympathetic to their host structure.

By enabling access to mobile networks, this groundbreaking initiative not only enhances communication for the residents but also opens up a world of possibilities. From accessing educational resources to availing online services and exploring various economic opportunities, these once-isolated communities can now be better connected to the rest of the world. This endeavour aims to bridge the digital divide and empower these regions with the benefits of connectivity.

Read more from the Vodafone press release here

NET CS acquires Jago Developments

Posted on July 22, 2022 by - Uncategorized

We are delighted to announce that Jago Developments, a specialist in GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic), has been acquired by NET CS.

NET CS has always been committed to delivering innovative design and construction solutions, while Jago Developments has gained widespread recognition for its exceptional expertise and achievements in the GRP industry. By combining our strengths, we will continue to offer the highest quality GRP products for NET CS’s church sites. Together, we will form a powerhouse of talent and capabilities in the telecoms GRP field.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the Jago Developments team for their trust and support during this transition. Operating under the new trading name of NETGRP, we are eager to uphold the highest standards in GRP design, manufacturing, and installations for our valued partner, the Church of England, as well as the broader telecoms supply chain community.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the Jago Developments team for their trust and support during this transition. Operating under the new trading name of NETGRP, we are eager to uphold the highest standards in GRP design, manufacturing, and installations for our valued partner, the Church of England, as well as the broader telecoms supply chain community.

We are genuinely excited about the journey ahead and the positive impact we can make by collaborating closely.

If you have any inquiries related to GRP, please reach out to us via email at GRP@netcs.co.uk.

NET Coverage Solutions Ltd

NET CS restores Listed MNO Telecommunications Water Tower

Posted on July 22, 2022 by - Uncategorized

NET CS is renowned in the telecoms industry for our work with the Church of England portfolio and installations on historic church buildings.

This year NET CS assisted an Infrastructure provider with a different challenge on a historic building.

The Water Tower, which hosts multiple operators, needed structural intervention and repairs, but had the added complication of being ‘listed’.

NET CS carried out a detailed structural survey and then provided a restoration schedule addressing the critical issues. After securing Listed Building Consent we had the greenlight to proceed in the summer of 2023.

The works involved a full brick clean, brick replacements, repointing, new lead roof, structural strengthening and intervention works to the tower turrets, new finials, timber works, internal electrics, and a new fall arrest system.

One of the many challenges was temporarily relocating the MNO’s equipment whilst the works took place to ensure no loss of service. However, with careful planning and cooperation by all parties, the equipment was located on the scaffold on a temporary basis and later reinstated.

The project finished on time, (5 months!) on budget and everyone agreed that the final result looked incredible.

Thanks to all parties involved and if you need anything ‘resolving’ on a historic or listed building don’t hesitate to get in touch…… It’s what we do.

Before
During
Structural
After

In-building Mobile Coverage for Large Residential Spaces Explained

Posted on June 10, 2022 by - Uncategorized

In-building mobile coverage for large residential spaces.  So, what is it? Why is it important? What are the implications if it isn’t designed and installed appropriately?

If you’ve ever lived in a city, you’ve probably fallen victim to substandard or non-existent network coverage at one time or another. Frustratingly, looking at a ‘message not sent’ notification or losing that all important call at a crucial moment.

For the landlords and property agents amongst you, poor residential mobile coverage is probably not unfamiliar. In fact, limited mobile coverage is common in large residential spaces, particularly modern buildings which are invariably constructed using concrete, steel and glass. The construction of buildings using these materials are notorious in blocking mobile phone signals, making it difficult for mobile signals to penetrate through into the building.

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

Enter In-building Mobile Coverage.

Organisations, such as ours, NET Coverage Solutions Ltd, work with the property sector to create robust solutions to improve the mobile coverage in residential buildings.

Just as no two buildings are the same, no two solutions are the same, and careful consideration needs to be applied throughout the design and installation phase ensuring the most appropriate technologies are deployed to improve mobile phone signal.

This can include:

Residential Mobile Signal Boosters

Also known as repeaters, signal boosters amplify the available signal. A booster takes the weak mobile signal and amplifies it up to 32 times, rebroadcasting the new stronger signal across the residential building.

Small Cell/Femto Installations in Homes

Small cells are essentially low powered wireless access points, providing cellular and Wi-Fi services. Small cells provide discrete coverage and can be deployed alone or as a network of cells.

DAS for Large Residential Spaces

DAS stands for Distributed Antenna System and is a point-to-multipoint solution, meaning multiple mobile phone networks are supported. DAS creates a single large cell, improving mobile coverage throughout the residential building, from one solution, regardless of the end user’s network.

Due to the size and complexity of large residential spaces, we often recommend a blend of different technologies to create a bespoke infrastructure for a specific space.

Whatever the solution, there’s no question that property owners have to get this right. In a recent questionnaire, nearly half of respondents said they ‘would reconsider renting or buying a property if they knew the mobile coverage would be poor’*

For a property owner, half of your prospective residents dropping off mobile signal could have a huge financial implication.

Can you afford to potentially lose residents due to poor residential mobile coverage in your property?  

Why not talk to us about what our solutions could look like for you, and we can prepare a Desktop Analysis to show you what the costs could potentially be for a solution to solve your problems.  For more information email us at  enquiries@netcs.co.uk or call 01276 854292.

Connectivity in the food service industry

Posted on April 19, 2022 by - Uncategorized

NET CS have  delivered a solution to a top restaurant chain that first opened in London in 2010.  This particular restaurant gained a Michelin star less than a year after opening, which it has retained ever since.

The restaurant has been included with some of the best in the world and it offers guests a world-class culinary experience. In their central London location they suffered from poor mobile service as they rely wholly on the signal that is provided from external radio sites. As with many of these types of locations these signals struggle to penetrate into the restaurant and this problem is made worse by the fact that half of the restaurant is located underground. The restaurant owners were concerned that its customers and VIP’s would not be happy without the ability to use their phones during their visits.

A public survey has suggested that over a fifth of people say that they have been “forced to leave the table” because they thought getting a signal more important than staying with the person they were dining with. 

Challenges and Considerations

Budget and aesthetics, were key to the client.  The proposed solution had to be appropriate in terms of costs to make it affordable for them.  They also were adamant that the infrastructure was installed out of view, and if it had to be visible that the impact was minimal, which presented some challenges.

Working times also had to fit in with the needs of the client, which meant this could only happen overnight, from 2am to 10am.

The Solution – Small cells

Small Cells were the chosen solution here, due to the capacity requirements and budget constraints of the client/project. The key for this solution to them was to have multi operator coverage throughout their restaurant, so NET CS proposed a multi operator small cell solution.

High Level Description

Multi Operator Small cells are low-powered cellular radio access nodes that operate in licensed and unlicensed spectrums and have a range of 10 meters to a few kilometres. These were selected, delivered, and managed by NET CS with direct connections back to the MNO cores.

Key Installation Details

  • 4 x Small Cells for each MNO proposed to provide coverage and capacity to the customer’s premises.
  • The units are installed out of sight above the ceiling grid as much as feasibly possible.
  • Any visible Small Cells are colour matched to the required surroundings.
  • All cables where visible are also colour matched to the surrounding.

The Results

NET CS were excited to have worked with this Restaurant Chain, ensuring that their patrons were able to experience the level of service they expected.

Whilst the purist will say that it’s all about the food they serve, and at this venue this was never in question. Modern diners are after the whole experience and a key part of this is being able to make calls or access social media during their food experience. So, through our solution we have enabled this to happen, ensuring many posts of the chefs great dishes will make peoples mouth water as they scroll through their social media feeds….

Mobile Network Operator Deployments

Posted on April 19, 2022 by - Uncategorized

In-Building DAS for an Online Grocery Giant’s Warehouse

NET CS are trusted by Mobile Network Operator’s to extend their networks and deliver connectivity to their largest and most important clients.  As their go to experts in In-Building DAS solutions, NET CS were engaged to assist with a large corporate international online grocer and technology company.

The client required a great service throughout their new facility, constructed with building materials that blocked cellular signals from reaching the warehouse space and offices.

Challenges and Considerations

This online grocer had just built a brand-new state of the art distribution centre located in England. A 36 acre site in which they quickly realised that they needed to address the poor cellular coverage to allow their staff to work safely and efficiently.

Like many other distribution centres, this building was constructed primarily with steel beams and metal cladding on the outside. Combined with a metal roof, a minimal number of windows located in the few existing offices and so getting a cellular signal inside was next to impossible.

The Solution - In-Building Mobile Coverage

This online grocer contacted its mobile provider and asked them for assistance. The operator contacted their partner NET CS to evaluate the situation.

NET was asked by the Mobile Network Operator to provide a design for an RF system to adequately cover the facility.

Knowing the challenges of these types of building and having delivered numerous solutions into similar environments, NET CS was able to quickly recommend an appropriate solution. We completed a survey and detailed design for a DAS solution to cover the requested areas.

DAS for the Warehouse Environment

DAS stands for Distributed Antenna System and is a point-to-multipoint solution, enabling high numbers of subscribers to be connected to services at the same time. A DAS creates a number of dedicated cells, that deliver service to a building, via a single shared infrastructure, capable of supporting cellular, Wi-Fi and mission critical services.

A DAS is the great choice here, as it is a robust and cost-effective solution, that can deliver dedicated MNO services to its coverage cell.

The system was designed with Nokia and Ericsson equipment that provided 3G and 4G signals through a DAS with strategically located antennas.

The solution was a hybrid/active passive coaxial antenna system consisting of 45 omni directional antennas and 1 directional panel antenna, which provided coverage and capacity to 95% of the target area of the client’s demise. The system has been designed in accordance with strict mobile network operator control documents.

The Results

This online retail giant now enjoys ubiquitous 3G and 4G connectivity throughout their facility provided through the solution NET CS designed and deployed. Cellular connectivity in a warehouse environment, allows staff to connect with their co-workers or agents in real time. More robust connectivity increases productivity and improves security and safety of the staff.