Irelands First Dual-MNO Streetworks Deployment
How Alpha Wireless and Ireland’s largest neutral host, Cellnex, unlocked a community that had faced 15 years of planning refusals. Deploying two operators on one pole, at half the cost and half the time.
THE CUSTOMER
Europe's Largest Neutral Host - Cellnex
Cellnex Ireland was Ireland’s leading independent telecommunications infrastructure provider. Operating as a neutral host, Cellnex’s model is built on one principle: build shared passive infrastructure once, let multiple operators lease it, and make coverage viable in locations where no single operator could justify the build alone. It was that model, applied with the right antenna solution, that finally connected Vicarstown.
THE PROGRAMME
€500,000+
Get Connected
In 2021, Cellnex Ireland launched the Get Connected programme, a community-driven initiative to bring mobile coverage to rural areas suffering from poor coverage. Communities submitted blackspot requests directly. Cellnex evaluated feasibility, guided proposals through planning, and deployed shared infrastructure.
THE CHALLENGE
Community Disconnected for Over 15 Years
Vicarstown wasn’t a coverage gap that had been overlooked. It was a problem the market had repeatedly tried and failed to solve.
TowerCos building in similarly constrained environments will recognise every one of these barriers.
15+ Years of Planning Refusals
Traditional towers weren't an optionBeing a heritage-sensitive village, strict criteria was applied to every planning proposal. Conventional masts and lattice towers were refused – a fundamentally different solution was needed.
Full 4G & 5G Performance Required
Shared infrastructure with zero compromiseOperators wouldn’t share infrastructure that compromised performance. The antenna had to deliver full tri-sector coverage for two simultaneous MNOs.
No Single-Operator Business case
Commercially unviable individual operator sitesLow population density made individual operator builds commercially unviable. Coverage was only possible if multiple MNOs shared a single piece of infrastructure and shared the cost.
Collapse of Network Sharing Agreements
NetShare and Mosaic ceasedIreland’s two main network-sharing agreements had both ceased without replacement. Every rural site was a stranded commercial case. A new infrastructure model – neutral host – was the only remaining path.
THE SOLUTION
One Antenna. Two Operators. Zero Compromise.
Cellnex Ireland structured the deployment around shared passive infrastructure: two MNOs co-tenanting a single site, splitting civil costs, and each paying a separate tenancy fee. Two revenue streams from one planning approval, one civil dig, one installation.
The critical enabler was the antenna. Alpha Wireless’s AW3871 Tri-Sector antenna, the smallest-diameter Tri-Sector on the market at the time. The first design to satisfy the heritage and visual criteria that had blocked every previous proposal. Mounted on a slimline streetworks pole with all cabling concealed inside the casing. The solution arrived pre-assembled and pre-cabled from the factory. No complex on-site integration. Half the standard installation time.
THE RESULTS
• HISTORIC FIRST
Dual-MNO Site in Ireland
Two simultaneous live operators, Vodafone Ireland & Three Ireland, from a single Alpha canister on a single pole.
• COST
%
Savings vs. Standard Install
Shared infrastructure and factory pre-assembly eliminated cost barriers that had blocked coverage for years.
• SPEED
Deployment Time
Pre-assembled, pre-cabled, and install-ready from the factory. No on-site antenna integration required.
• SCALABILITY
Counties Now in Program
The pilot proved the model- expanded nationally, 37 community blackspot applications received.
• PLANNING APPROVALS
Years Blocked at Planning
The AW3871’s slimline form factor achieved planning approval where every prior proposal had been rejected.
• COMMUNITY
Sites Live in Co. Laois
Vicarstown, Ballyfin & Castletown – all three pilot sites fully operational by June 2022.
DEPLOYMENT TIMELINE
From Blackspot to Dual-MNO in Under 18 Months
2021 - Get Connected Launches in County Laois
Cellnex Ireland pilots Get Connected in County Laois and Offaly, committing more than €500,000+ to address communities locked out of coverage. Vicarstown is selected as one of three pilot sites.
Late 2021 - Planning Secured After 15 Years
The Alpha Wireless AW3871, on a slimline streetworks pole, achieves the first planning approval in Vicarstown’s history. Cellnex secures co-tenancy commitments from both Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland. Neither was commercially viable alone, but sustainable with shared build costs and two separate tenancy revenues from one passive asset.
Early 2022 - Three Ireland, First Operator Live
Mid 2022 - Ireland's First Dual-MNO Streetworks
June 2022 - All Pilot Sites Confirmed Live
All three Co. Laois pilot sites live on 4G and 5G. Operator feedback: antenna performance “exceeded expectations.”
Late 2022 - National Scale
Following the Laois pilot, Get Connected expands nationally. Nine counties covered. 37 community blackspot applications submitted. Demand far exceeding the initial pilot scope, the framework that worked in Vicarstown is now a repeatable national model.
What This Means at Scale
Vicarstown, as a proof of concept, became a repeatable framework and the new goldstandard in Ireland. The same approach used in a rural environment is now deployed in Dublin urban streetscapes – solving 5G densification challenges in capital city centre, where the same planning and aesthetic logic that worked in a heritage rural village proved equally effective in a congested urban environment.
THE PRODUCT
The AW3871 deployed in Vicarstown has since evolved into the AWT2-3871, the current-generation modular Tri-Sector at the heart of Alpha Wireless’s Macro Streetworks Solutions.
AWT2-3871
The Modular Tri-Sector T2 Series is a flexible antenna platform designed for Streetwork deployments. The AWT2 Platform is made up using discrete parts.
- The Base Stack Interface is used to attach the Base Stack to the Monopole. It is attached to the Base Stack in the factory.
- The Base Stack is the lower of the two antenna modules.
- The Extension Stack is the upper of the two antenna modules.
Each stack is made up of three panels that are positioned at 0°, 120° and 240° in the Azimuth plane. These individual panels are replaceable in the field for upgrade or maintenance purposes.
The AWT2-3871 is a 36 Port Modular Tri-Sector built from two modular antenna stacks. The base stack has 6 ports covering 698-960MHz and 12 ports covering the 1710-2690MHz frequency bands. The extension stack affixed to the top of the base stack has an identical setup having 6 ports covering 698-960MHz and 12 ports covering the 1710-2690MHz frequency bands.
TESTIMONIALS
From the People Who Built It
This is the first time in Ireland that we’ve deployed a solution using streetworks with two operators on it. We now have two operators, Vodafone and Three, live and operating in Vicarstown using a streetworks pole.
Colin Cunningham
Managing Director, Cellnex Ireland
Communities are being empowered to collaborate and work together to address these issues. Laois is now one of the best-connected counties in Ireland.
Caroline Hofman
CEO, Laois Chamber
Ready to take the next step?
Deploy Faster. Permit Easier. Earn More Per Site.
If you are building a multi-operator shared infrastructure programme and need a proven streetworks solution that unlocks planning and reduces build costs – contact our team of experts today.