AN UPGRADE to telecommunications equipment on top of Windrush Tower is planned that will boost internet speeds in the Blackbird Leys area.

Country-wide firm Vodafone currently leases a radio mast on the roof of the tower in Knights Road from Oxfordshire County Council.

The company has contacted Blackbird Leys Parish Council after entering into an agreement with Telefónica UK in which the two firms will jointly operate and manage a single network grid across the UK. It is proposing to upgrade the Windrush base station to introduce 3G and 4G coverage in the area.

An email to the council reads: "Vodafone have identified the existing installation upon Windrush Tower as suitable for an equipment upgrade to enhance overall coverage.

"The site upgrade is needed to improve current 2G coverage for Vodafone, introduce 2G coverage for Telefónica and introduce 3G and 4G for both within the area."

If development goes ahead, six new antennas will replace the old three on top of Windrush and a new satellite dish will be installed.

Last year it was revealed that mobile phone signals in Oxford lag behind that of the surrounding area and the UK average. A mobile phone user in Oxford will get a download speed of 4.71mbps (megabits per second) compared to 6.20mbps in Swindon, 6.21mbps in High Wycombe and 7.78mbps in Reading.

The county council made £42, 750 in 2009 renting out space on top of Windrush, Plowman, Hockmore and Foresters towers for phone masts.