Building Mobile Connectivity for McLaren Construction

McLaren Construction is part of the larger McLaren group of companies. Established in 2001, they operate in construction, property and development in the UK and UAE, servicing customers in the private and public sectors. Their core markets include commercial offices, mixed-use buildings, residential, retail, education, distribution and logistics, hotels and leisure. McLaren aims to exceed customer expectations, leave a positive legacy in the communities they serve, protect the environment for future generations and promote a safe and inclusive workplace.

The Problem

When cellular masts were removed from the Brentwood area in Essex, thousands were left with virtually non-existent mobile signal coverage. Due to the network change, McLaren Construction’s offices in Brentwood were adversely affected by the abrupt loss of mobile coverage and the surrounding area was now very much in a mobile network black spot. With the office now located further away from the nearest mobile phone tower, it soon became apparent that the thick external walls that made up made of the façade of the HQ building would only make the lack of in-building mobile signal more acute.

Driven by their strong corporate values, McLaren Construction were aware that without good mobile connectivity, their ability to exceed customers’ expectations would be undermined.

The Challenge

Having had first-hand experience of OFCOM licence-exempt CEL-FI solutions through successful deployments at other project sites, the McLaren IT team contacted Frequency to enquire about a solution to improve the mobile coverage in their office despite the recent changes to the mobile networks.

Based on the urgency of the situation, Frequency was instructed to carry out a site survey after the requirements of the deployment were discussed. The site survey would examine all the external and internal factors of the building and determine whether a CEL-FI solution would be able to resolve their HQ mobile coverage dilemma. The survey confirmed that there was little to no signal inside the building. Crucially, it identified that there was enough mobile signal for all networks on the roof and confirmed that a CEL-FI solution with high gain antennas would be successful in resolving the mobile signal issues.

The Solution

The CEL-FI SOLO solution was the best fit and most cost-effective solution to resolve the mobile coverage issues for all networks throughout the 3-storey building. Due to the short lead times proposed, the installation was agreed and completed within 3 days.

The all network CEL-FI SOLO solution was installed by Zonegen, an accredited CEL-FI installer partner of Frequency.

The Results

Following installation, the building now has full mobile coverage across all floors. Staff, contractors and visitors of the building can now use their mobiles for voice and data services with confidence in all areas of the building albeit much of Brentwood is still struggling with virtually non-existent phone signal in the area.