Connectivity
Cumbria Police Case Study: 4G/5G Connectivity & Mobile Data
How BT strengthened public safety at Appleby Horse Fair with cutting-edge connectivity.
August 12, 2025
5 minutes
Connectivity
Cumbria Police Case Study: 4G/5G Connectivity & Mobile Data
How BT strengthened public safety at Appleby Horse Fair with cutting-edge connectivity.
August 12, 2025
5 minutes
Each year, when 40,000 visitors arrive at Appleby-in-Westmorland’s historic horse fair, the rural town’s mobile infrastructure is placed under significant strain hindering the ability of Cumbria Police officers to stay connected.
Working closely with the police to understand their requirements, we increased the site’s bandwidth capacity, repurposed existing 3G frequencies to 4G and 5G, and provided dedicated EE Airtime and mobile data allowances.
Our support enabled officers to stay connected on the ground throughout the event, helping them perform their duties more effectively and maintain public safety.
How we helped Cumbria Police with critical activity
Appleby-in-Westmorland is home to little over 3,200 people. But for seven days a year in June, the small market town is transformed into a vibrant hub of activity, with around 40,000 visitors attending Appleby Horse Fair.
Cumbria Police, alongside the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Eden District Council, and the RSPCA, faced the immense responsibility of ensuring the safety and well-being of attendees during the event, but the town’s existing mobile infrastructure simply can’t cope with the huge influx of visitors. Simple things like making a phone call or accessing real-time data became a struggle, making it difficult to deploy officers where they were needed most.
Recognising the critical need for robust and reliable mobile connectivity to strengthen public safety, Cumbria Police came to us for a solution. And our expertise in designing bespoke mobile connectivity solutions for critical public services and large-scale events, in complex and challenging environments, made us the perfect partner.
The challenge
Appleby Horse Fair is arguably Europe’s biggest traveller event. Its increasing numbers presented a unique set of challenges for Cumbria Police. The small rural town’s mobile infrastructure simply wasn’t designed to handle such a massive temporary surge in demand.
With up to 200 officers on duty during peak times, each relying on handheld mobile devices, tethered laptops and data-intensive applications, like body-worn cameras, mobile CCTV and drones, the strain on the network was immense. Officers were struggling to communicate with each other and the command centre, impacting coordination, situational awareness and security, and placing significant strain on police resources.
With the event taking place over such a wide area, traditional in-person briefings were replaced by virtual meetings via Microsoft Teams, highlighting the need for consistent mobile data access across the site. The widespread adoption of body-worn cameras to improve public safety during the Fair also amplified the need for more robust and reliable infrastructure.
It was clear that a standard connectivity setup wouldn’t be sufficient to support the needs of such a large-scale event. Cumbria Police needed a specialist partner. With a track record of delivering critical mobile connectivity for public services in the UK, we were best placed to help Cumbria Police find a more stable, scalable solution.
The sheer volume of attendees at Appleby Horse Fair, coupled with the increasing reliance on data-hungry devices by Cumbria police officers, led to a critical situation. The existing network infrastructure simply couldn’t cope, hindering the force’s ability to effectively communicate and access real-time information to ensure public safety during the event.
The solution
Our priority was to significantly increase network bandwidth to handle the influx of visitors and devices expected at Appleby’s seven-day event. We worked closely with Cumbria Police to gain a deep understanding of their specific requirements, operational use cases, and device needs. Through collaborative discussions with key stakeholders - including the Chief Constable - we explored potential solutions to ensure our recommendations aligned with their expectations.
We meticulously investigated the user scenario, taking into account the number of officers on the ground, as well as the quantity and type of devices being used during the event. We also analysed historical network usage patterns during previous Appleby Horse Fairs to gain a greater understanding of peak demands. Our in-depth fact-finding formed the foundation of a bespoke and secure solution to optimise site capacity and improve public safety. This involved upgrading the existing mobile infrastructure to increase both capacity and coverage across all areas of the ancient market town.
The site was operating at 45MHz bandwidth. We boosted this capacity to 75MHz by reconfiguring the 2100MHz and 700MHz carriers, which were previously dedicated solely to 5G, to allow spectrum sharing with 4G. This single adjustment added 30MHz of crucial bandwidth and simultaneously expanded the coverage of EE’s 4G network, a significant increase, especially for a rural site that typically serves a small local population of around 3,200 people.
We also repurposed the existing 3G frequencies to 4G and 5G, splitting the capacity 50/50 to accommodate the force’s 4G devices, and support future digital demands. Recognising the importance of enhanced coverage, we also incorporated the 700MHz frequency at the site, which was undergoing testing for wider rollout. This lower frequency band provided additional bandwidth and network coverage, ensuring more reliable mobile connectivity across the rural event site.
To guarantee consistent and optimal performance throughout Appleby Horse Fair, we implemented daily monitoring of the site’s network performance and put a change freeze in place for the duration of the event to ensure maximum stability. This protected the network and Cumbria Police from potential disruption, delivering the connectivity required to carry out critical duties, while being able to react and respond instantly to any evolving connectivity requirements.
Beyond the network infrastructure upgrades, we also equipped Cumbria Police with dedicated EE Airtime and mobile data allowances, ensuring officers and their mission-critical devices, including body-worn cameras, operated effectively with seamless mobile connectivity throughout the duration of the Fair.
To guarantee uninterrupted connectivity during the event, we implemented continuous network monitoring and a change freeze for the duration of the event to guarantee maximum stability.
The result
Upgrading Appleby-in-Westmorland’s network infrastructure, powered by EE, the UK’s fastest and most reliable network has delivered a significant improvement in mobile connectivity and data sharing for Cumbria Police, and ultimately enhancing public safety during Appleby Horse Fair.
Cumbria Police reported significantly better law enforcement results for the 2024 event when compared with the previous year:
- Arrests up 132% from 2023
- Traffic reports up 654% from 2023
- Vehicle seizures up 487% from 2023
In addition, officers on the ground expressed high satisfaction. Empowered by their 4G-enabled devices, they were able to carry out their duties more effectively, with the ability to effortlessly call and securely share large files and sensitive information with other officers and the command centre.
The increase in bandwidth also ensured that critical applications, like Microsoft Teams for real-time event briefings, body-worn cameras for enhanced situational awareness, and drones for aerial monitoring, all operated seamlessly without any delays or disruption.
Greater capacity enabled the command centre to receive real-time video footage from officers’ body-worn cameras and drones, improving situational awareness and enabling faster, more informed decisions around resource allocation and backup deployment. Increased visibility streamlined day-to-day operations for officers and Police HQ staff too, boosting overall efficiency, and potentially freeing up valuable resources for the wider county. And smoother communication and faster access to real-time intelligence not only created a safer environment for attendees of the Fair, but for the residents of Appleby-in-Westmorland too, now safe in the knowledge that Cumbria Police has everything it needs to safely monitor and control such a large-scale event.
Building on this success, we’re also working with Cumbria Police to roll out Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, which will extend secure access and high-performance mobile connectivity into their HQ, further improving the force’s operational efficiency. What began as a need for enhanced temporary connectivity for Appleby Horse Fair, has evolved into a robust and future-proof network infrastructure empowering Cumbria Police to ensure the safety and security of the annual event, and a pivotal date in the Gypsy and Traveller community, for years to come.
We needed a temporary solution, but thanks to BT, we now have a future-proof network infrastructure to ensure the safety and security of Appleby Horse Fair and Appleby’s residents for years to come.
