How better location data is helping Cornerstone build a more resilient digital infrastructure

Since 1985, when the first ever mobile phone was made, the race to build the nation’s mobile phone network sparked to life. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, building masts, towers, and the necessary infrastructure to make it all work was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. The focus was on speed and coverage. Far less thought was given to data quality and the consistency of the data underpinning it.

Forty years on, the telecoms industry has found itself saddled with a legacy of mixed data quality from that period. Significant time and costs are lost trying to locate exactly where some mobile phone mast sites are. Maintenance teams or supply chain personnel are sent out to visit a site, but without the exact location they cannot find it and end up driving around searching for it.

Cornerstone, the UK’s biggest mobile and digital infrastructure provider in terms of assets, manages over 16,500 sites nationwide. It maintains a diverse mix of mobile phone masts, towers, and small cell technologies, as well as building new digital infrastructure across the breadth of the UK. These sites are spread across greenfield sites, rooftops, street-works, and special purpose data networks.

By using OS location data, Cornerstone has enhanced the quality of its asset data. Improved location accuracy supports both operational staff and customers in planning and conducting works.

Cornerstone’s digital transformation has been driven by data-led innovation and strategic investment in AI technologies, with both now central to its growth and operational success. Geospatial intelligence underpins key processes, from site selection supporting and 5G network rollout, to asset monitoring, helping to deliver a more robust infrastructure that serves as the backbone of a thriving digital economy and supports a digitally connected society.

More recently, OS data has helped Cornerstone to improve the recording and understanding of building height data.

Iain said: “Building height information is an important part of how we plan and manage work safely on our estate. This data has not always been readily available to us, so quicker access has been very valuable.”

Looking ahead, Cornerstone is exploring the use of OS data to support future initiatives such as digital twins. While still in the early stages, discussions have highlighted the potential for OS’s geospatial intelligence to provide a robust foundation for these virtual models - enabling smarter infrastructure planning, lifecycle optimisation, and real-time situational awareness.