Vodafone has said its new design for 5G masts can help reduce the amount of overall masts needed in urban and suburban areas of the UK.

According to the carrier, its new 'quad stack' design is able to provide greater capacity and faster speeds, while also serving other technologies such as 2G and 4G.

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– Vodafone

This improved design means it will be able to reduce the number of masts in the UK, plus street-level equipment cabinets.

Vodafone said it has designed the mast to be compact, making it better suited for locations that have less space for masts.

In the past, Vodafone explained that it was difficult to house the various technologies within a single unit, however, it's been able to overcome this issue with its quad stack antenna, which supports 2G, 4G, and 5G connectivity.

The carrier noted that such a move will enable it to also save space with its deployment of technology.

Its quad stack mast can combine multiple fiber optic cables into a single ribbon cable with a compact connector.

Vodafone has so far deployed its quad stack design across locations in the Greater London area, although did not specify the number or exact locations.

The telco said that the design can withstand the wind shear typical to that part of the country, while noting that quad stack masts, like any other mast design, need to be adapted to the many differing weather conditions found across the UK.

Vodafone did not specify further rollout plans for the new mast.