AN EIGHTEEN-METRE tall 5G mast planned in Castlepark could be set to improve limited mobile coverage.

The application was submitted by UK CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd (Three) network stating there is now a requirement to upgrade to provide improved coverage and capacity for 5G services.

Plans would see the 18m monopole located at Castlepark Circle near the area’s school and nursery.

Plans state: “Three are in the process of building out the UK’s fastest 5G network. Three has 140MHz of 5G spectrum (and 100MHz of it contiguous), which means our service will be much faster and able to handle more data. To bring this new technology to the people CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd will need to provide a mix of upgrades to existing sites and the building of new sites.

“New sites will be needed for many reasons, including that the higher radio frequencies used

for 5G. The site is required to provide new 5G coverage for CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd in order to improve coverage in the area of Irvine. The cell search areas for 5G are extremely constrained with a typical cell radius of approximately 250m meaning that it would not be feasible to site the column outside of this locale

“Mobile phone base stations operate on a low power and accordingly base stations therefore need to be located in the areas they are required to serve.

“Increasingly, people are also using their mobiles in their homes and this means we need to position base stations in, or close to, residential areas.

“A further limiting factor is that the position has to be one that fits in with the existing network.

“We have carefully placed and designed the scheme to ensure the principles of good siting and appearance are adhered to. The overall impact of the installation on the environment is limited.”