The National Gallery,London – extended mobile coverage for public spaces

After successfully delivering a multi-operator mobile connectivity solution for the National Gallery’s office headquarters at One Gallery Hub, Shared Access was invited back to extend coverage into newly refurbished public areas.

The decision reflected the Gallery’s confidence in Shared Access’s technical expertise, service quality and ability to deliver highly reliable mobile coverage in one of the UK’s most architecturally complex and historically significant buildings.

The challenge

The Gallery was undertaking a major programme of improvements across key public-facing spaces – including the newly renovated Sainsbury Wing, the refurbished Pigott Theatre and the Rodin Centre for Creative Learning.
These areas experience high daily footfall, yet the combination of Grade I listed architecture, deep interior space and modern materials blocked external mobile signal. With more visitors relying on mobile connectivity for navigation, ticketing, accessibility tools and sharing their experience, providing guaranteed coverage for all mobile networks had become essential.

The solution

Building on its original deployment, Shared Access extended their existing Distributed Antenna System (DAS) into the three public zones. Central to the solution is Shared Access’s innovative Base Station Hotel (BTS Hotel), an off-site, secure facility that houses all mobile network operators’ large-scale telecoms equipment and connects to the building via dedicated dark fibre.

Outcomes

With the expanded system now live, Gallery staff and the visiting public benefit from reliable, high-quality
mobile signal throughout key parts of the building.

Benefits to the public

• Always-on mobile access for ticketing, audio guides, wayfinding and learning tools
• Improved accessibility, supporting digital aids used by visitors with additional needs
• Better safety and security, ensuring staff and guests have uninterrupted mobile coverage
• Enhanced visitor experience, enabling easy sharing of content and engagement with exhibitions
• A future-ready platform able to support evolving digital visitor services

Read our full case study HERE.