Eisteddfod tunes up for enhanced 4G, 5G mobile connectivity

Aiming to satisfy the connectivity demands of up to 175,000 people who are expected to attend the week-long festival, the National Eisteddfod has engaged VodafoneThree to deploy dedicated 4G and 5G coverage across the footprint of the iconic Welsh cultural gathering.

Held during the first week of August each year, the National Eisteddfod of Wales comprises a collection of events in celebration of Welsh culture and language.

This year, the event is being held in Llantwd (Llandudoch), Pembrokeshire, and from exhibitors and local businesses processing payments to broadcasters sharing content and organisers coordinating activity across the site, reliable connectivity is essential to its smooth running.

VodafoneThree will be boosting network capacity at the event and beyond, and enhanced network capacity will help support the thousands of people and organisations that come together to bring the National Eisteddfod to life.

This is claimed to ensure that both Vodafone and Three customers visiting and working across the festival site will enjoy the fastest data speeds, as well as the strongest voice calls, even when the event is at its busiest.

The enhanced connectivity will come from a temporary mobile mast known as a cell on wheels (COW). The masts are routinely deployed at some of the UK’s busiest festivals, agricultural shows and sporting events. This includes the likes of Glastonbury, Royal Ascot, Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.

COWs are supporting music festivals across the country, including Reading and Leeds, Latitude, Download, Bestival, Wilderness and BST Hyde Park.

Some events will receive more than one COW depending on terrain, the size of the event area, and the estimated number of attendees. Through a recent upgrade, the majority of COWs now support both Vodafone and Three 4G and 5G coverage.

At the Cheltenham Race Festival earlier in 2026, the VodafoneThree COWs are claimed to have delivered more capacity, as well as faster downlink (1.4Gbps download) and uplink (190 Mbps upload) speeds, than any other operator at the event. Across the festival, the COWs saw an increase in data usage, apparently handling enough data to stream more than 38,000 hours of horse racing.

Earlier in the summer of 2026, a COW attended the Royal Welsh Show to support the local network and, as a result, it saw enough data used to share more than 13 million images of the event on social media.

“This year, we’ll be bringing our herd of COWs to some of the UK’s largest special events, delivering fast and reliable coverage to our customers,” said VodafoneThree chief network officer Andrea Donà. “From festival-goers sharing their visit on social media to organisers and vendors relying on connectivity to keep them trading, our COWs will be there to provide the best possible connection to our customers, wherever they are.”