Access to dependable, high speed mobile connectivity is essential for residents, businesses and organisations across the country. Like many regions, Nottinghamshire has faced varying levels of mobile signal coverage, and the 4G and 5G connectivity maps provided by network operators often fail to accurately reflect real-world conditions faced by residents, businesses and public sector organisations.

Recognising this gap, the Digital Connectivity team was successful in securing funding from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) ‘Digital Pathfinders Programme’, and selected Birmingham City University (BCU) as the academic partner for the project to collect data and map actual mobile connectivity across the county (see footnote reference 1). Over an 18-month period, data was collected by a network monitoring device that synchronously measured all four Mobile Network Operators’ (MNOs) 4G and 5G mobile signal coverage across the refuse collection routes operated by the seven District Local Authorities in Nottinghamshire. The survey collected data across 7,723 roads across Nottinghamshire’s districts and boroughs, resulting in 7.7 million data points being collected.

Whilst this vast amount of data was held in Excel files, it was difficult to analyse efficiently and present to those who could benefit most from it. Without the ability to visualise the data it is virtually impossible to interpret and to effectively present the results to MNOs and other key stakeholders. The Digital Connectivity team realised it was vital to bring this data to life, creating use-friendly visuals that clearly highlight connectivity across all MNOs with a focus on areas of poor signal and gaps in coverage. These visuals would then be used in discussions to influence interventions and investment in improved network coverage.

Nottinghamshire County Council provides public access to real-time insights and in-depth analysis of local trends through the Nottinghamshire Observatory, which is fully hosted and managed using Esri UK’s Data Observatory. Already leveraging Report Builder for ArcGIS to create detailed reports and visualisations, the Council identified the Observatory as the ideal platform for presenting the results of the Digital Pathfinders Project.

To map and share the huge amounts of data surveyed, the Digital Connectivity team chose ArcGIS Experience Builder, a commercial off-the-shelf solution, which empowers users to create a high quality interactive and compelling website without the need for complicated coding. The process was streamlined, enabling the team to create the maps and then to build the web pages, starting with an existing web page template and then using the customised widgets and design preferences as needed.

Colour-blind palettes were selected for the maps, ensuring the maps are accessible to users with colour vision deficiencies, aligning with the Council’s accessibility and inclusion goals. “A clear and accessible viewing experience offered on all platforms, especially mobile devices was essential to the council’s own brand, credibility, and reputation, and Experience Builder certainly fulfilled this requirement,” commented Jonathan Hall, GIS Officer – Digital Connectivity, Nottinghamshire County Council.

Users can now explore the findings through mobile-friendly maps, zoom into specific areas, flip between separate webpages of the four MNOs in Nottinghamshire (Three, EE, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone) whilst ensuring that the maps retain the same zoom and extent, and check 4G and 5G availability – from ‘not spots’ (no network coverage) to areas with excellent connectivity. The maps are optimised for various screen sizes including large screens, tablets and mobiles, thus giving a pleasant viewing experience.

By identifying areas with poor connectivity and ‘not spots’, the team can now prioritise these areas for intervention and engage with the MNOs and other relevant partners/stakeholders to devise solutions to drive improved mobile connectivity.

Delivering mobile equality
By visualising its mobile connectivity data, Nottinghamshire County Council has a clearer view of the ‘not spots’ and poor signal areas and can have meaningful and collaborative conversations with mobile network operators to address poor connectivity issues. The maps will also be used to track developments and changes in mobile connectivity as 6G is trialled and previous generations of mobile communications (eg 3G) become obsolete.

Updatable
Future data additions can now be seamlessly integrated, enabling clear visualisation of progress and changes. This allows for continuous mapping of underserved areas, including public spaces inaccessible to refuse collection lorries, ensuring comprehensive coverage and targeted improvements.

Demonstrating insights
Maps have been created to visualise the seven million plus data points, allowing users and stakeholders to uncover insights that were previously hidden in Excel files. The interactive, zoomable maps with multiple user features demonstrate the impact of the collected data, enabling the Digital Connectivity team to showcase the results of its work to the LGA, which funded the Digital Pathfinders Project.

Better viewing experience
Residents and businesses can view the maps on a variety of devices with different screen sizes, thanks to the technology employed in Experience Builder. These web apps automatically adapt to the user’s screen size, ensuring a seamless experience across devices. Features like the colour-blind palette also make the maps accessible to users with colour vision deficiencies, allowing everyone to read and understand the maps clearly.