South Norwood SE25

220K
Established Contributor
Established Contributor
  • South Norwood SE25 has poor mobile phone coverage since 6th January 2025 I have been told by EE a local transmitter mast has been decommissioned and it could take 5 years or more to put up a new mast in this area this isn't good it's affecting other providers in the area not just EE nobody seems to know what's going on why is EE taking money from customers and delivering poor services why can't they install a temporary mast why did they decommisson a local phone mast leaving area with such poor quality signal and Croydon Council are being idiots rejecting a new phone mast in the area so South Norwood is in a very very bad condition 
20 REPLIES 20
Leanne_T
EE Community Support Team

No problem at all @220K 

Leanne 🙂

KayFab
Explorer

Disgusting service, no network for over 2 weeks.

Unable to make calls, unable to use the internet, currently on BT Broadband but my home is unable to get a fibre connection so speeds are generally poor - heavily relied on EE personal hotspotting my mobile if I needed faster speeds for the type of work I do but I haven't received any updates or been contacted by EE about this issue. I raised this with them on 3 occasions and they came back lying saying there are no issues .

The root of the problem is the mast atop the block of flats off of Sunny Bank, the building is being decommissioned/destroyed and power to the building and mast has been completely switched off, this building and mast is in viewing distance of my house and I correlated the issues once I noticed the construction work around the site.

I can't call 150 at all because there is no coverage, and I don't have a spare line. Please sort this out or reimburse the many people going through this issue like myself.

But these macro sites and small cell installs are not helping us whatsoever. At this time I might as well use my phone as a door stop when at work. Spoke to customer services again yesterday and I have been told that next month if there is no resolution in site then I am going to either be released mid contract or be given a permanent discount off my price plan each month until the matter is resolved. 

220K
Established Contributor
Established Contributor

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220K
Established Contributor
Established Contributor

I am really struggling to access mobile data to the point Web pages and mobile websites fail to load anything the service seems to be getting even worse over the last few days into this week 😕

This is what I am getting at the Network Rail depot next to Norwood Junction station. It’s unusable now! My work O2 phone is also affected, but I can make calls on it unlike my EE phone now. The O2 5G speeds are about 10Mbps, bloody awful, but better than EE right now. I have a feeling this is not going to be resolved anytime soon. I am going to ahead and buy the Vodafone 5G router and if it’s also affected I’ll return it under the 14 day cooling off period. 

I think the adverse weather has affected what’s already a diabolical service and made it even worse if that’s possible?! 

 

220K
Established Contributor
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220K
Established Contributor
Established Contributor

Unfortunately it's not just affecting EE, it's affecting Three, 02 and Vodafone all are having signal issues in South Norwood the option is to get broadband installed and use Wi-Fi calling and unfortunately wait it out until the new phone mast goes up in the area also there a block of flats being demolished by Croydon Council Sunny Bank and I think that is the cause of the problem/issues as phone mast was on 1 of them blocks of flats which is going to get knocked down it isn't EE, THREE or Vodafone or 02 fault and it's out of the networks control I expect there be trying to get a replacement phone mast up as quickly as possible I bet they need planning permission and council approval you could complain to Croydon Council as they keep rejecting new phone masts in South Norwood area and mention you want to approve the planned phone masts proposed in the area and submit your objections to Croydon Council continually denying access to a new phone mast to be built you could also raise the issue with your local MPs which can all help speed up the process but the mobile phone networks are doing everything they can to get a replacement mast up and running as quickly as possible we just need to wait it out unfortunately or pressure Croydon Council and local MPs to accept the new phone mast proposals in the area 

220K
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Fun Fact:

 

Temporary phone masts, often called "Cell on Wheels" (COWs), are typically not significantly more powerful than standard mobile phone masts, but they can be configured to deliver a higher power output depending on the event's needs, providing strong signal coverage in areas with large crowds at events like concerts or festivals; their power output is usually within the range of 5-10 watts per transmitter, with the total radiated power potentially reaching around 100 watts with multiple transmitters on a single mast. 

Key points about temporary phone masts:

Adaptable power:

The power output can be adjusted based on the event size and expected data usage, allowing for increased signal strength when needed. 

Multiple technologies:

COWs can support various network technologies like 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G to cater to diverse user needs. 

Mobile setup:

These masts are designed to be easily transported and quickly deployed at different locations.