Freshwave is working with Wigan Council in Greater Manchester to bring assured indoor and outdoor mobile connectivity to the community.
Working with Wigan Council’s dedicated IT services partner Agilisys, connectivity infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave have brought multi-operator indoor mobile connectivity to three council-operated buildings. Freshwave have deployed Omni Network across Wigan Life Centre North and South buildings, as well as Wigan Town Hall. Everyone in the buildings, whether staff or visitors, now enjoys seamless multi-operator mobile connectivity, with Freshwave providing an ongoing managed service.
Omni Network provides assured mobile connectivity from all the UK mobile network operators (MNOs) by extending their networks indoors via small cells. Building materials often block mobile signal from penetrating from outside, making buildings mobile signal dead zones. However, a dedicated multi-operator in-building system, such as Omni Network, ensures everyone inside can use their mobile devices just like they can when out and about.
Wigan Life Centre North offers a range of public services all under one roof. It hosts the library and neighbourhood support functions like Citizens Advice, Victim Support, housing advice, and other public and community services. Wigan Life Centre South is dedicated to health and fitness, providing integrated health and preventative services to the community. Its facilities include a 25m main pool and second smaller pool, group exercise studios, a dedicated cycle studio and a gym.
Freshwave are also working with O2 to deploy 10 4G/5G outdoor small cells at high-demand areas in Wigan, such as outside Wigan Library and outside Wigan Wallgate Station, to boost connectivity for the operator’s customers. The outdoor small cells will process mobile traffic at street level, enhancing the mobile experience for O2 customers in the area. Outdoor small cells are compact mobile units which can be attached to street furniture such as lamp posts, providing enhanced capacity in busy areas while keeping street clutter to a minimum.
James Winterbottom, Director of Strategy and Innovation at Wigan Council, said: “Improving residents’ experiences when accessing our buildings is incredibly important to us, and the collaboration with Freshwave on better connectivity across our public spaces has enabled just that. Residents visit our life centres and libraries for a range of services and activities to boost their health and wellbeing, whether spending time in the gym or attending one of our TechMate tea parties to improve their digital confidence. Having better access online means a more convenient, enjoyable and accessible experience for everyone.”
Nicola Mortali, Public Sector Director at Freshwave, said: “Bringing dedicated mobile connectivity indoors is about more than just signal strength; it’s about enabling people to work, learn, and access services seamlessly. Strong mobile coverage in civic buildings means smoother operations, better access to digital services, and a more productive and connected environment for everyone.
“We’re also pleased to be working with O2 to bring extra capacity for their customers to Wigan. Open access agreements speed the deployment of digital infrastructure in communities by helping the mobile operators share council-owned assets for everyone’s benefit.”
Professor Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said: “Our work in Wigan demonstrates how our £700 million Mobile Transformation Plan is strengthening digital infrastructure across the UK. Outdoor small cells add mobile capacity in high-demand locations, supporting communities and enabling our customers to stay connected wherever they are.”
Nigel Muirhead, Chief Executive Officer at Agilisys, said: “Reliable mobile connectivity is now basic infrastructure for a modern council – it underpins everything from frontline staff working across sites to residents accessing services on their phones. We were pleased to advise Wigan Council on choosing the right partner, and Freshwave’s approach stood out for the simplicity and speed it brings. Wigan is now home for Agilisys, so this one is personal. Investment like this is exactly what makes a place ready for the next wave of digital and AI-enabled public services, and we’re proud to have played a part in it.”
Omni Network enables all-operator mobile connectivity via a combined small cell box. With all the MNOs contained in one box which is configured and controlled by engineers via Freshwave’s data centre, Omni Network needs less equipment, cabling and corresponding installation. This means it’s faster to design and deploy and uses up to 60 per cent less energy than a distributed antenna system.
Public sector transformation specialists Agilisys advised Wigan Council during their selection of an indoor mobile connectivity partner.
