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Cellnex, O2 sign agreement for Brighton Main Line

June 15, 2026

Cellnex, an independent operator of telecommunications infrastructure in the UK, has announced that O2 has signed an agreement to join its Brighton Main Line (BML) connectivity project. The collaboration will see O2 access Cellnex UK’s purpose-built neutral host infrastructure, enabling the phased rollout of high-speed mobile connectivity, including 5G, to customers across the entire route over the coming months. This includes major commuter stations, London Victoria, London Bridge, and Clapham Junction.

The news follows Cellnex signing Three UK in 2023, further demonstrating growing operator demand for the Brighton Main Line platform.

The Brighton Main Line is one of the UK’s highest-density rail routes: a 108 km corridor linking London, Gatwick Airport and the South Coast with Thameslink, Southern, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway and London Overground Services. It serves more than 300,000 passengers every weekday, of which 50,000 are travellers to and from the second busiest airport in the UK, and accommodates 1,700 daily train movements.

New indoor coverage solutions are being deployed to significantly enhance mobile phone connection in three of the most important London stations, London Victoria, London Bridge, and Clapham Junction, which account for roughly 19 per cent  of railway passenger traffic to and from the capital from outside London.

Steve Cray, Managing Director of Cellnex UK, commented: “Regular railway passengers will understand the frustration of losing signal mid-conversation or spending whole journeys with buffering videos. With O2 now on board, many more passengers are going to notice the difference on one of the UK’s most important commuter routes. This collaboration stands as one of the most significant end-to-end telecommunications infrastructure deployments in British railway so far, and we are proud to be setting a new standard for the UK’s entire rail network.”

For O2 customers who regularly travel on the Brighton Main Line, the agreement marks the start of a phased rollout that will deliver more
reliable connectivity over the coming months, with coverage improvements being brought live in stages across the route.

Professor Robert Joyce, Director of Mobile Access Engineering at O2, said: “Our £700m Mobile Transformation Plan is focused on delivering reliable connectivity in the moments that matter most, and railway lines are a key part of that. By working with Cellnex to improve connectivity along the Brighton Main Line, we’ll be bringing improved coverage and capacity to customers travelling from the coast to the capital over the coming months.”

Paul Richmond, Head of Business Development for Network Rail, added: “Passengers on the Brighton Main Line deserve connectivity that matches the importance of this route, and our long-term partnership with Cellnex is transforming what has historically been one of the most technically demanding corridors for mobile coverage into a showcase for modern railway connectivity. A huge amount of collaboration has gone into this project over the last few years to support the infrastructure for this project on a railway that is constantly operational. With O2 now on board, even more passengers will soon experience the benefits of this investment every time they travel.”

The three-year build programme has seen more than 129,000 working hours delivered across 11,000+ worker entries on the line side and at stations.

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