The school gates may only just be shutting for the holidays, but early summer 2026 has already been busy for VodafoneThree.
Since the start of June, our herd of temporary mobile phone masts – known as Cells on Wheels (COWs) – has been working hard at some of the UK’s biggest events, helping both Vodafone and Three customers stay connected with fast and reliable 4G and 5G.
Even when demand is at its highest, they delivered the extra capacity needed and, as a result, some of the biggest events of the summer so far have already witnessed impressive data figures.
What’s more, in performance testing of the busiest areas of the events where the COWs attended, VodafoneThree outperformed on both data speed and quality.
COWs beef up the network at some of the busiest special events
Highlights during this period include:
- Wimbledon: where they supported recent permanent network upgrades in and around the venue, helping tennis fans share every ace, rally and celebration across the fortnight. As a result, enough data was carried across both Vodafone and Three 4G and 5G to rewatch the men’s singles final around 16,000 times on high-quality video.
- American Express presents BST Hyde Park: they supported our award-winning London network* as thousands of music fans descended on Hyde Park for nine nights of gigs. Across the entire series, the COWs saw Vodafone and Three customers use enough data to stream more than 60 years of high-quality music non-stop.
- Isle of Wight festival: where they carried enough data to stream more than 50 years of high-quality music.
- British Grand Prix: across the race weekend, they complemented dedicated 4G and 5G coverage in Silverstone’s Wing Building, and recently upgraded masts around the circuit. As a result, the COWs saw customers use enough data to stream the big race in HD almost 24,000 times.
- Royal Ascot: where the trailers managed enough data to stream more than 47 weeks of horse-racing over HD quality video.
And there’s plenty more to come. In all, the herd is planning 130 deployments during 2026, with some events requiring multiple units depending on attendance levels, terrain and venue size.
Upcoming events include:
- Royal Welsh Show
- Latitude Festival
- Camp Bestival presented by Debenhams
- Audi presents Wilderness
- National Eisteddfod of Wales
- Boardmasters
- Pepsi MAX presents Reading & Leeds
Football fans score big on data usage
It’s not just festivalgoers and sports fans attending events in person who are driving demand, however. This summer’s football fixtures have also generated significant increases in network usage across both mobile and broadband services.
During the England match against Norway on 11 July, VodafoneThree recorded a more than 20% increase in mobile data traffic between 11pm and midnight compared with a typical Saturday night. At the same time, broadband traffic surged by more than 65%, as fans streamed and shared from homes, pubs or other venues.
These figures build on data trends seen throughout the tournament, highlighting the crucial role connectivity plays in the overall fan experience.
“The summer of 2026 is already proving to be busy for data usage, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down any time soon. However, we can keep up with the growing demand due to our ongoing network investment programme and our expertise in knowing where coverage for our customers matters most. So, whether they are enjoying F1 at Silverstone or watching the football at their local, we continue to keep them connected – across this summer and beyond. It’s all part of our commitment to building the UK’s best network.”
Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer, VodafoneThree
* London’s Best Mobile Network – Vodafone: Based on the NET CHECK Benchmark measurement report of mobile networks in Greater London. Tested with latest commercially available equipment on four mobile networks, in March/April 2026. For more information: Vodafone network | Vodafone UK or to read the full report: London’s Best Mobile Network report by NET CHECK.
