2,000+  
App downloads during the initial rollout

20+
Energy-efficient 5G small cells deployed

1
National pilot project supported by DSIT

Bridging the Digital Divide in Coastal Communities

Worthing, a vibrant seaside town on England’s south coast, experiences sharp seasonal shifts in mobile demand. Summer tourism puts intense pressure on local infrastructure, while off-season traffic returns to a quieter, community-focused pace. This fluctuation has exposed mobile coverage gaps—issues mirrored in many UK towns facing the same growing digital divide.

To address this challenge, the BEACH Project (Bandwidth-Efficient Access for Clustered High-demand) was launched—part of DSIT’s Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) competition. It’s an ambitious initiative to roll out shared, energy-efficient 4G/5G infrastructure in high-demand areas like Worthing, led by a consortium including Dense Air, West Sussex County Council, the University of Glasgow, Radisys UK, and VMware.

As Dense Air’s digital partner, Sonin was brought in to design and deliver a community-first mobile app that balanced user value with real-time data collection. This kind of public-private collaboration—combining local insight with national ambition—sets a precedent for scalable, citizen-led infrastructure innovation.

Local Discovery:

Helps residents and visitors find nearby events, businesses, and public services—supporting community engagement and tourism.

Consent-Led Signal Data Collection:

Anonymously captures mobile signal strength (with full user opt-in) to identify coverage gaps across Worthing.

Dual-Value Design:

Delivers real value to users while supporting national infrastructure research for smarter 5G rollout.

Low-Impact Background Operation:

Lightweight app architecture ensures data collection runs efficiently without draining battery or disrupting the user experience.

THE CHALLENGE

The BEACH project needed a dual-purpose mobile solution that could: 

• Deliver immediate, tangible value to Worthing’s residents and visitors 

• Collect anonymised mobile signal strength data (with full user consent) to support the rollout of energy-efficient 5G small cells 

The result would be a model for more innovative, greener infrastructure in towns across the UK—but it had to be built on real-world usage and genuine community engagement. 

THE APPROACH

Sonin worked closely with Dense Air and West Sussex County Council to shape a user-first solution. The result: My Worthing, a mobile app that connects users with local events, independent businesses, and public services in one easy-to-navigate interface. 

But behind the scenes, it was doing even more. With users’ explicit consent, My Worthing collected anonymised mobile signal data in the background. This enabled Dense Air and the BEACH consortium to build a detailed, real-time picture of network performance throughout the town, especially during seasonal peaks. 

This approach balanced public value with national infrastructure goals. It ensured adoption, encouraged engagement, and provided a critical layer of insight for researchers, councils, and telecoms providers alike. 

My Worthing sits at the intersection of innovative city thinking and user-first design, providing councils with a tangible way to engage communities while addressing critical infrastructure challenges with real-time data. It proves that public-facing apps can be more than informational tools—they can be infrastructure enablers. 

THE IMPACT

With over 2,000 downloads during its first rollout, My Worthing became more than just an app—it became a data-driven enabler of more intelligent infrastructure. 

The platform delivered: 

• A comprehensive dataset identifying mobile coverage gaps across Worthing 

• Support for the deployment of many energy-efficient 5G small cells in high-footfall locations 

• Real-time insights into demand patterns during tourist peaks and local off-seasons 

These small cells now scale intelligently with local demand, ramping up during busy periods and powering down when traffic is low. This not only boosts coverage but also aligns with West Sussex County Council’s carbon neutrality goals, making it a win for users, local authorities, and the environment. 

Behind this success is Sonin’s ability to bridge technical innovation with public engagement, delivering not just a digital product but a shared infrastructure experience that benefits both communities and decision-makers.