21923 - SCTE Broadband Aug2023 COMPLETE v1 (1)

23 Vol. 45 No. 3 - September 2023 Issue industry news In the sleepy village of Ardington residents woke up on the morning of August 2 wondering what had happened to their internet access. Rather than a network outage or a dicky router, it transpired over several hours that more than 500 metres of underground copper cable had been stolen overnight from the local Openreach network. This affected 400 homes in the village situated 15 miles south of Oxford. “Can it really be that hard to find these thieving scumbags? It’s not easy selling on copper,” commented one disbelieving resident, and one has to wonder. 500 metres is not an easy load to transport, never mind offload. The theft caused significant damage to the network, and left residents without internet access for almost two weeks. The repair job will take some considerable time and a blameless Openreach have apologised for the inconvenience. Cable Thieves Leave Oxfordshire UK Village Offline for Nearly 2 Weeks Vodafone, working alongside mobile coverage service partner Net CS and the Church of England, have started installing the latest 4G technology in 11 church bell towers across the UK. This will ensure rural customers, businesses and visitors can enjoy a strong and reliable Vodafone 4G connection. The church towers are being kitted out with small, well-hidden boxes that give a 4G signal with a 500-metre coverage radius. The Blessed Virgin Mary in Brompton Regis, Somerset, and St Michael’s & All Angels in Ewyas Harold, Herefordshire are the first UK churches to go live, with a further nine, located across Dorset, Essex, Norfolk and Wiltshire, going live in the coming months. Mobile connectivity continues to play a vital role in supporting rural economies. However, mobile network operators can struggle to gain planning permission for required masts, particularly in rural locations. OpenRAN is a new way of building a mobile site that can be smaller, lighter and more energy efficient, perfect for use in rural or remote communities. Vodafone, Church of England and Net CS provide better 4G signal in rural communities