Virgin Media O2 has paired with Freshwave to deploy small cells in Cornwall, UK.

Infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave has partnered with O2 to deploy five small cells in St Ives and three in Newquay, with a further five set to go live soon.

According to the telco, the small cells have been installed in busy areas, with Cornwall being a popular coastal holiday destination in the UK.

It expands on the carrier's small cell footprint, with the company recently installing its 2,000th site. The company claims to have the largest small cell deployment of all the UK's operators.

Small cells are designed to enhance mobile capacity and reduce network congestion in densely populated areas.

They are typically fixed to existing street furniture, such as lampposts, and seen as a simpler alternative to bulkier telecom infrastructure, which might look out of place or draw criticism from residents.

O2 noted that the small cells have been deployed at key points in both towns, including at the Porthminster and Porthmeor beaches in St Ives, and Tolcarne beach and the train station in Newquay.

"These new small cells serve some of the busiest areas in Cornwall and will ensure that O2 customers have a reliable mobile experience," said Dr Rob Joyce, director of mobile access engineering at O2.

It's not the first time the telco has partnered with Freshwave to deploy small cells, notably doing so to install some in Manchester last year. The carrier has also worked with Mavenir Telecom and Ontix to install small cells in other parts of the UK.

Earlier this year, Virgin Media O2 announced plans to invest £700 million ($935m) into its mobile network this year in an effort to improve its reliability, speed, and coverage across the UK.

The figure equates to around £2 million ($2.67m) a day, the operator said.

Separately this week, Virgin Media O2 said it will switch off its 3G network in Watford next month. The company has already retired the service in Durham (April), Norwich, Telford, Guildford (16 July), and earlier this week, Torquay.

Virgin Media O2 expects to complete its 3G shutdown by the end of this year.