Do we need planning permission?

In most cases, small cell installations fall within permitted development rights and do not require full planning permission. A wayleave from the relevant landowner is required, and Dragon WiFi manages this process with you.

Will it work with our existing phones and SIM cards?

Yes. Wavemobile connects to the major UK networks — once a cell is live in your community, your phone will connect to it automatically using your existing SIM. You'll get a text message introducing the wavemobile network and within a minute, you can connect your phone to the network.

How long does the whole process take?

This varies by location, but from initial enquiry to a live installation typically takes a few weeks to a few months, depending on wayleave complexity and equipment availability. Dragon WiFi will give you a realistic timeline once the desktop survey is complete.

What is a wayleave and do we have to organise it?

A wayleave is written permission from a landowner for equipment to be installed on their property. Dragon WiFi handles all of this — we draft the documentation, explain it to the landowner, and manage the signing process. You don't need to navigate it alone.

Can community buildings and charities apply for the ABC grant?

Yes. Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations are eligible, including village halls, community centres, sports clubs and registered charities.

What happens if my application is unsuccessful?

Dragon WiFi can assess alternative broadband solutions that may not require grant funding — including fixed wireless and satellite options suited to rural Wales.

How long does the application process take?

Once submitted, applications are assessed within 20 working days. Dragon WiFi handles the paperwork with you to make sure your application is complete and accurate before submission.

No Mobile Signal where you live?
We Can Change That.

Across the UK, there are still areas of poor or no mobile signal. Areas such as rural hamlets, coves and whole villages are still unable to make emergency calls outside of their home.

If you live in a mobile Not-Spot, we want to hear from you.

We are the official survey and installation partner for Wavemobile across the UK, and together we are on a mission to eliminate mobile Not-Spots one area at a time.

It costs nothing to tell us. It could change everything for your community.

Tell us about your area

The Problem Is Real
and it's Bigger Than People Think

Thousands of villages, hamlets, farms, coastal communities and rural businesses across the UK have no reliable mobile signal. Not just poor signal — none at all. No calls. No texts. No data. In some cases, no way to call 999 in an emergency.

The major networks have no commercial incentive to fix the hardest-to-reach locations. The infrastructure is too expensive, and the return on investment is too low. So these communities have been waiting — for years — for someone to step in.

That's exactly what Dragon WiFi and Wavemobile are here to do.

Dragon WiFi Holiday Park Internet Receiver

Would You Like
a Callback?

Facebook

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name(Required)

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Who is wavemobile?

Wavemobile is a UK mobile network specialist with a clear mission: addressing connectivity gaps by empowering emergency services, communities, local governments and businesses in rural and underserved areas.

Using compact, easy-to-install equipment designed and manufactured in the UK, Wavemobile delivers combined 4G+2G coverage — transforming Not-Spots into connected hubs. Their network supports calling, texting, internet browsing, WhatsApp and mapping apps, working seamlessly with the phones and SIM cards people already own.

Wavemobile provides everything needed to make it work — spectrum, a robust core network, national roaming and ongoing support. The community or landowner simply provides a location, power and connectivity.

Dragon WiFi is Wavemobile's official survey and installation partner across the UK — when you contact us, you are contacting the team that makes it happen on the ground.

Talk to Our Team

How It Works
From Your First Contact to a Connected Community

Step 1 - Tell Us About Your Not-Spot

Fill in the form on this page. Tell us your community name, your postcode, and which networks are absent. Tell us roughly how many people are affected. It takes two minutes. Even a single enquiry is enough to trigger an investigation — we don't need a petition or a minimum number of signatures. One contact from a community representative is all we need to get started.

Step 2 - We Complete a Desktop Survey

Using mast data, terrain mapping and network coverage tools, Dragon WiFi analyses whether your location is technically feasible for a Wavemobile installation. This costs you nothing and happens within days of your enquiry.

Step 3 — We Visit Site

If the desktop survey looks promising, a Dragon WiFi engineer visits your community in person to assess the terrain, identify the best installation point, and confirm feasibility on the ground.

Step 4 — The Wayleave

A wayleave is a written permission from a landowner or property owner to install equipment on their land or building. It is a standard legal requirement for telecoms installations — similar to a planning permission for infrastructure.

Dragon WiFi manages the wayleave process with you. We explain exactly what is needed, draft the agreement, and guide the landowner or community building through signing. In most cases this is straightforward — a church, a village hall, a farm building, or a tall structure that gives line of sight across the community.

Step 5 — We Order and Install

Once the wayleave is in place, Dragon WiFi requests the equipment through our Wavemobile portal. The kit arrives and our engineers carry out the full installation — typically a compact base station that most people would barely notice.

Step 6 — Your Community Gets Signal

Once live, the Wavemobile cell broadcasts 4G+2G coverage across your community on the major UK networks. Residents don't need to do a thing — their phones connect automatically via a simple text message.

Ready to Get Started?

What You Need to Have Ready When You Contact Us
To make the process as fast as possible, it helps to have the following information when you fill in the form:

Your name and role:
Parish councillor, residents' association, resident etc.

Your community name and postcode:
Or the centre of the affected area.

Which networks are absent?:
Vodafone, O2, EE, Three, or all of them
(Please only select the ones that you are aware of)

Roughly how many households or businesses are affected?
A rough estimate is fine

Are there any obvious tall structures or buildings that may be suitable locations for an antenna?
A church tower, a water tower, a prominent farm building on a hill. Somewhere that can see a lot of the affected area. It would need power and potentially internet.

The more information you can give us at this stage, the quicker we can assess the network situation and make a plan.

Wavemobile
Frequently Asked Questions

NO - At present, all wavemobile surveys and installations are free!
Currently, wavemobile is trialling the hardware on sites across the UK.
We are simply looking for areas that have poor or no signal from more than 2 of the major providers (Vodafone, Three, EE and O2)
There is no charge to submit an enquiry or for Dragon WiFi to carry out a desktop survey or for the installation. We would require an internet connection and power supply though which the community would pay for.

There is provision for a limited number of free installations across the UK as we conduct the proof of concept for the small cell technology.
We already have over 80 UK sites and are looking to double that number in the next 12 months.
Once we have a certain number installed, we are going to be talking with the major providers to act as an official extension for their networks.
We've already partnered with Virgin Media/O2.

This is genuinely an exciting project benefiting communities across the country and stops the need for full-scale mast installations in rural areas.