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
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.
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.
