Edinburgh’s stadium, the home of Scottish Rugby, is the latest place to get a significant mobile data upgrade.
Vodafone customers visiting the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh are now benefitting from faster and more reliable connectivity, thanks to dedicated 5G and 4G which has just gone live in the stadium. Vodafone 5G Standalone (5G SA) is also just months away from arriving.
A new system for providing a dedicated and highly reliable mobile signal has been installed in a number of areas across the stadium, including the stadium bowl and will support numerous uses – from spectators streaming the other big matches of the day while in their seats to staff using it to contact colleagues, even during the busiest of events.
As well as new dedicated Vodafone 5G, the stadium is also benefitting from improved Vodafone 4G coverage, ensuring customers experience both strong and reliable Vodafone 4G data as well as better-quality voice calls.
The improved connectivity at Murrayfield is part of the company’s ongoing network investment across Scotland. In August 2024, Vodafone announced a major multi-year partnership with Scottish Rugby to become a Principal Partner, and back of shirt sponsor, of the Men’s, Women’s and Pathway teams. Dedicated Vodafone 5G has also arrived at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
Vodafone to become a Principal Partner of Scottish Rugby in multi-year deal
Scotland Women and the women’s pathway teams will gain full access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect, the landmark mobile-first performance-measurement technology.
Benefits of 5G for rugby
Economic modelling, commissioned by Vodafone in 2024, revealed how 5G could add £139m to rugby’s matchday economy per season by 2029. The report concluded that this would come from two major income streams.
The first is hospitality. 5G-enabled monitoring technologies, working with the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud, could enable food and drink vendors in stadiums to monitor customer demand and stock levels, allowing them to serve more customers, more quickly, during busy periods.
The second is ticketing. Using 5G-enabled cameras and sensors on balls and pitches, stadiums could offer fans a more immersive experience, such as viewing the action from their chosen camera angle or getting real-time player performance stats on their phones.
Meanwhile, enhanced broadcasting on a dedicated and uninterrupted slice of 5G could deliver a virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experience to fans who couldn’t make the match or missed out on tickets for sold-out games.
Separate modelling found that VodafoneThree’s UK-wide £11bn infrastructure programme could boost Scotland’s economic output (GVA) by as much as £7.8bn.
First Minister of Scotland meets Vodafone UK CEO at Murrayfield
Vodafone UK CEO Max Taylor met with First Minister of Scotland John Swinney ahead of Scotland’s Autumn International against South Africa.
VodafoneThree’s £11 billion investment programme
In June 2025, VodafoneThree’s announced a UK-wide £11 billion investment programme.
- It has already introduced innovative ‘Multi-Operator Core Network’ technology, so Vodafone and Three customers are starting to automatically connect to the best coverage available – whether that’s on the Vodafone or Three network – giving them access to two networks, at no extra cost.
- It has led to Three customers enjoying faster, more reliable 4G coverage, following the activation of extra spectrum on Three UK masts across the country.
VodafoneThree has also committed to building a 5G SA network that will reach 99% of the UK’s population by 2030, and 99.96% by 2034.
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