{"id":562372,"date":"2023-01-03T07:07:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T15:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=562372"},"modified":"2025-04-03T14:03:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T21:03:38","slug":"vodafone-digital-twin","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin","title":{"rendered":"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Engineer Better Networks"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[21622,338472,161432,173122,282972],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[483372,487812],"esri_blog_department":[478202],"class_list":["post-562372","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-digital-twin","tag-engineering","tag-operations","tag-telecommunications","tag-uk","esri-blog-category-telecommunications","esri-blog-category-top-10-posts","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Boris Pitchforth, the lead architect of Vodafone\u2019s digital twin, began the project of capturing network and environmental details in 3D out of personal curiosity and more and more dimensions have been added as it has proved to be useful for all aspects of the business.\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key Takeaways<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Vodafone\u2019s digital twin started as a map and now delivers many operational efficiencies.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Vodafone engineers use the digital twin to conduct virtual site visits.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Vodafone planners use digital twins to look at construction plans and to forecast where to build capacity next.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All mobile network operators offer a coverage map that allows anyone to see where signals reach, the quality of coverage (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G), and if the signal is strong indoors and out. At Vodafone, a high-resolution digital twin provides a far more granular understanding of the network than was possible previously.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cInitially, it was purely a question of producing a better map,\u201d said Boris Pitchforth, lead architect at Vodafone. \u201cNow it has become a much smarter way for us to plan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Vodafone digital twin for Britain\u2014representing 245,000 square kilometers\u2014was created using geographic information system (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/what-is-gis\/overview\">GIS<\/a>) technology. It contains various levels of immersive 3D detail that gives anyone at the carrier the ability to see the invisible signals the company creates and sells.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For engineers, the digital twin enables signal propagation modeling across coverage areas to guide constant maintenance and upgrades that strengthen signals and increase coverage area.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vodafone\u2019s digital twin enables the company to stay on top of plans for developments such as new housing, shopping centers, and sports venues. This helps ensure Vodafone's signal is strong wherever demand is growing.<\/p>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[562412,562422,562632,562482]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UK has been Vodafone\u2019s test ground for its pioneering digital twin. The company is now looking to adapt this approach to cover the millions of customers Vodafone serves in 12 countries across Europe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Signals Diminish Wherever There\u2019s Clutter<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the beginning, Boris Pitchforth and his team used the digital twin to combat clutter\u2014objects that obstruct cellular signal. Trees were an early consideration, especially tree growth. To model tree growth, the team has acquired tree data spanning many years, with details about seasonal changes that impact signal.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe don\u2019t know individual tree types,\u201d said Rebecca King, GIS lead at Vodafone. \u201cIt might be unrealistic to think we could capture whether each tree is an oak, hazelnut, or conifer across the whole country, but we would capture that if we could.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vodafone\u2019s 360-degree view of the network and signal strength is stored in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud; attributes are cataloged and visualized with ArcGIS Enterprise.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country-scale details about clutter include more than 40 million environmental features. Network features, such as towers and equipment, add another 500,000 records. Network performance data adds billions of rows of data to the database to depict signal strength across space and time. And there are population volumes, such as how many people are on the road or travel through each train station, so Vodafone can conduct capacity planning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Engineers Gain Awareness<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital twin has become instrumental to planning. With details about topography, cell towers, and the equipment on each tower, engineers can do preplanning for work on individual towers or whole sections of the network. They can look at how a new tower could fill a gap in coverage, or model how adding or removing a component might impact signal strength.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital twin also enables engineers to measure infrastructure remotely, which saves time and money because they don\u2019t need to go to the field every time to take a measurement. It can also be used to direct them to the cell tower in the middle of a field or in a dense urban environment, where finding the path or access road can be tricky.<\/p>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[562442,562432]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the digital twin, major landmarks\u2014like London\u2019s Paddington Station with railway lines, skyscrapers, a canal, a bridge, and a busy road\u2014are modeled in particularly fine detail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>This Is a Tool Every Vodafone Employee Can Use<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amount of place-, equipment- and signal-related data that the digital twin integrates is staggering. But as Boris Pitchforth points out, no digital twin is perfect. Vodafone has built its digital twins so that people across the company can correct inaccuracies and fill in missing information. \u201cThe more people who see the network and know the network, the more people who can report any gaps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The digital twin also contributes to Vodafone\u2019s pledge to ensure that its UK operations achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2027.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019ll always need engineers to go out\u2014there\u2019s no way around that. But we want to reduce multisite visits,\u201d Boris Pitchforth said. \u201cInstead of driving all those trips, the digital twin allows an engineer to visit the site virtually while sitting at a desk. It\u2019s surprising how the emissions savings add up.\u201d<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/digital-twin\/overview\">GIS creates dynamic digital twins<\/a> and supports all types of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/telecommunications\/overview\">telecommunications operations<\/a>.<\/p>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"View the Esri UK video below to see how Vodafone's digital twin guides decision making."},{"acf_fc_layout":"youtube","youtube_video_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lx9HaiJBfro"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Improve Networks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Engineer Better Networks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-03T21:03:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Reviewing-Vodafone-DT-11_826.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Improve Networks\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-01-03T15:07:03+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2025-04-03T21:03:38+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Engineer Better Networks\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad23580b2658589de4ea5107d75cb52\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Matt Ball\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Matt Ball\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"description\": \"Matt Ball is the editor of the Esri Blog and writes about applications of geospatial technology for all its departments. With nearly 30 years of reporting on GIS technology, he has chased future-forward user stories and watched as wild ideas, innovative tools, and enterprise-wide geographic approaches have become common practice. Prior to Esri, he edited GeoWorld magazine, organized the GeoTec Event, founded V1 Media, and launched Sensors &amp; Systems and Informed Infrastructure magazines. He\u2019s thrilled to be closer to GIS users, and at a company that pushes what\u2019s possible.\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/mball\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Improve Networks","description":"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Engineer Better Networks","og_description":"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","article_modified_time":"2025-04-03T21:03:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Reviewing-Vodafone-DT-11_826.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin","name":"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Improve Networks","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-03T15:07:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-03T21:03:38+00:00","description":"The Vodafone country-scale digital twin captures environmental and network attributes to deliver a more robust and performant network.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/vodafone-digital-twin#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Vodafone Creates Country-Scale Digital Twins to Engineer Better Networks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/8ad23580b2658589de4ea5107d75cb52","name":"Matt Ball","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Author-photo-2024-768x768.jpg","caption":"Matt Ball"},"description":"Matt Ball is the editor of the Esri Blog and writes about applications of geospatial technology for all its departments. With nearly 30 years of reporting on GIS technology, he has chased future-forward user stories and watched as wild ideas, innovative tools, and enterprise-wide geographic approaches have become common practice. Prior to Esri, he edited GeoWorld magazine, organized the GeoTec Event, founded V1 Media, and launched Sensors &amp; Systems and Informed Infrastructure magazines. He\u2019s thrilled to be closer to GIS users, and at a company that pushes what\u2019s possible.","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/author\/mball"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/562372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/562372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562372"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=562372"},{"taxonomy":"esri-blog-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/esri-blog-category?post=562372"},{"taxonomy":"esri_blog_department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/esri_blog_department?post=562372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}