Giant ‘beating heart’ installation powered by human connections glows as Londoners make calls, send texts and use data on the Vodafone network.
- Vodafone unveils its ‘Connected Heartbeat’ installation in Trafalgar Square to celebrate being named London’s Best Network by NET CHECK* for the second year running.
- The huge 4x4m heart-shaped sculpture responds to real-time connections on the Vodafone network in London, as people in the capital make calls, send texts, and use 4G or 5G data.
- Nearly 16 million calls are made on an average weekday in London on the Vodafone network alone, with 1.7PB (petabytes) of data used.
- Westminster is the busiest borough when it comes to data usage and tops the table for voice calls with 1 million per day.
- New research shows the busiest time for Brits to connect is 7-8pm, while for Londoners it’s slightly later at 8-9pm. Those in the capital also average 80% more calls and texts each day than anywhere else in the UK.
- Vodafone has donated over 300,000 SIMs across London through its everyone.connected campaign, since the start of 2021, as part of its commitment to help people and businesses cross the digital divide.
Londoners may have spotted a striking new interactive installation in the capital on 25 February 2025, as Vodafone brought to life the millions of connections on its network to celebrate being named London’s Best Network by NET CHECK* for a second year running.
In a unique demonstration of the power of connection, the ‘Connected Heartbeat’ ebbs, flows and glows in real time as it reacts to the use of 4G and 5G data, as well as calls and texts made by Londoners, on Vodafone’s network.
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The one-of-a-kind, heart-shaped structure in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square was designed in partnership with local artist, Frankie Curtis, and features her unique line drawing map of the city and signature doodles highlighting the capital’s most iconic landmarks.
In a clever visualisation of its network, the ‘Connected Heartbeat’ is powered by data from over 2,000 of Vodafone’s London network towers, which travels in real time to the structure and is displayed via thousands of light points.
With the city making nearly 16 million calls and using 1.7PB (petabytes) of data a day on Vodafone’s network alone, it’s been revealed that Westminster, Newham and Canary Wharf are the busiest areas in the capital on a weekday – making up 17% of the total voice and data usage in London as a whole. Westminster is the busiest borough when it comes to data usage and tops the table for voice calls with 1 million a day.
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Powering up the installation, broadcaster Roman Kemp challenged both radio host and Londoner Melvin Odoom and commuters to get the interactive piece of art glowing by connecting with friends and loved ones.
The installation is launched alongside new research that reveals the busiest time for Brits to connect is from 7-8pm, with the average person sending 11 messages and making 4 calls during their phone’s peak usage hour.
Across an entire day, Brits make an average of 30 calls and messages, while Londoners average 80% more than anywhere else in the UK with 54.
Gen Z are the biggest chatterboxes, sending an average of 50 messages a day, closely followed by Millennials (49). Although WhatsApp is the most popular method of connecting with friends for all age groups (51%), a quarter of Gen Z (25%) say that they most frequently use social media apps like Snapchat or Instagram to contact their pals.
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Two-thirds of the nation (66%) agree that daily digital connection is essential for maintaining relationships and 60% also believe they would have less contact with their loved ones if it wasn’t for their phones.
The research also found that the capital is the UK’s most connected region, with Londoners sending an average of 50 messages each day, followed by Scotland (43) and Wales (30). Vodafone’s London network data shows us that those in the south make 400k more calls than the north, yet it’s Central Londoners who are using the most data.
Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer & Network Director at Vodafone UK said: “Seeing our network brought to life in such a striking way is fascinating and something that has never been done before.
“We power millions of connections in the city every single day, and what better way to celebrate this than by putting it in shining lights. We know staying connected night and day is important, whether that’s for work or being able to check-in with loved ones on-the-go.
“We’re committed to providing customers with the very best service, and that’s why we’re proud to be London’s Best Network for a second year running”.
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Artist Frankie Curtis said: “Growing up in London, I’ve always felt connected to the city and its wonderful characteristics. So, working on the Connected Heartbeat with Vodafone to put my spin on its iconic landmarks has been a joy.
“Creating each doodle for the map was a fun and immersive process, I’ve loved researching and illustrating them and capturing the essence of each area. I have friends and connections all over the city, and it is important to stay linked which helps my artistic journey. Seeing it all come together, with the clever tech lighting up the millions of calls made on Vodafone’s network, was really innovative. I mean, it just proves how alive and connected this city truly is!”
Broadcaster Roman Kemp said: “I have lived in the capital for years now and to see my fellow Londoners waking up and connecting with others in real time as they go about their day and as a piece of art is really cool and innovative. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it really shows the power of connection and how integral it is to the fabric of our daily lives.”
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Vodafone has helped over three million people and businesses cross the digital divide as part of its everyone.connected campaign. Across London, Vodafone has donated over 300,000 SIMs through the campaign since the start of 2021.
The ‘Connected Heartbeat’ will be on display at London’s Trafalgar Square until the end of 25 February 2025.
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Notes to Editors
*Vodafone was named London’s Best Network on the basis of NET CHECK’s 2024 measurement report of objective mobile network performance in Greater London. This test used the latest commercially available equipment to test the performance of four mobile networks in October/November 2024. Vodafone’s network was tested in a range of voice and data service categories including accessibility, reliability, speech quality and speed tests using customer applications such as browsing of popular web pages, video streaming and more. NET CHECK revealed that Vodafone ranked first, ahead of other UK mobile providers in combined voice and data services, and first in data services specifically.
Research methodology
Research conducted by OnePoll across 2,000 UK adults, February 2025.
