Vodafone started an internal trial in the UK of an Ericsson small cell system, which has previously been pushed by the vendor as a means to drastically reduce the cost of indoor coverage.

The operator’s Netherlands unit was announced as the first customer for the Ericsson Radio Dot system in a trial back in 2014.

Vodafone, which claims it is the first UK operator to test the system, says it will enable continuous coverage from inside a building onto its outdoor 4G network.

Back in February, Verizon made a similar claim for the US when it sent the Ericsson system through its paces in one of its regional headquarters.

Call handover between in-building small cells and the 4G data network are technically tougher due to the different radio frequencies and protocols used, said Vodafone.

The new system is being tested at Vodafone UK’s office in Waterloo, London. The operator said it will test different office deployments and scenarios with the view of trialling Ericsson’s kit with corporate customers at a later date.

The system offers customers mobile broadband throughout a building by the deployment of small cells or ‘dots’. They are approximately the size of an indoor smoke alarm (pictured).

The system also claims to require less internal wiring for a building, so reducing the need to rip up a ceiling or floor. This speeds up the rollout and lowers the cost of installation. Ericsson has pushed the cost benefits versus a distributed antenna system (DAS), the alternative approach. Its product also competes with other solutions in the market from the likes of SpiderCloud Wireless.

Vodafone UK CTO Jorge Fernandes said: “With 70 per cent of customers using their mobile device mostly indoors, we want to eradicate the frustration of losing a conference call or video streaming session when moving throughout a business park or leaving a music venue.”