Who is this for?

Churches are often a natural choice for hosting antennas as many have tall towers. This page is for those who have been approached by a company wishing to survey their church or church building, or enter into an agreement to place telecommunications apparatus or infrastructure. 
It will also be useful for those churches interested in hosting such infrastructure.

What are the benefits?

  • Improved connectivity in your local area - providing much needed support to public and community services as well as the general public.
  • Internet connectivity within the church building, subject to contract.
  • Income for the parish, by renting out the space where the the telecoms equipment sits. 

How does it work?

If you have been approached, then you are strongly advised to refer the approach to our supplier NET Coverage Solutions Limited (“NET CS”) and to your DAC Secretary.
NET CS have been working with the Church of England since 2004, helping parishes whose buildings may be considered for use in hosting mobile network equipment.  They will arrange for the appropriate processes to be undertaken and, subject to a successful survey, will undertake the work necessary for a faculty application. You can see the full managed process here.

What does it cost?

There is no cost to pay. NET CS’s costs will be paid by the people building the infrastructure. NET CS will reimburse the PCC’s (or other governing body’s) reasonable costs.

Will there be some income for the church?

Yes. Hosting a telecoms site benefits the parish. A valuation will be carried out as part of the process managed by NET CS, but a guideline scale of rents has been set as part of the agreement. 

There are other benefits too, which NET CS set out here. 

Will the church building get internet connectivity?

If you are entering a new agreement, there is now provision in the agreement for your church to get internet connectivity via 4G/5G as part of the installation, subject to contract. You should seek to include this as part of the overall process.

Why should we use NET CS?

NET CS have followed this process for over 180 installations, so are used to working with Church of England parishes. As well as an agreed process they are used to providing faculty documentation, working with Historic England and amenity societies like the The Georgian Group and Victorian Society, and have standard template agreements which satisfy faculty requirements. The faculty petitions will have these documents included.  

Church of England Central Services Trading Limited has established a standard framework contract with NET Coverage Solutions for parishes.

  • Standardised terms and a consistent approach to obtain a fair price, with template documents for use. 
  • Efficient project management through a trusted delivery partner with established process timelines for implementation. 
  • Compliance with the relevant legal requirements (including the requirements of ecclesiastical law). 

Contact NET CS

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: +44(0) 1276 854440

Or you can read more about NET Coverage Solutions Limited on their website:

Visit NET CS website

What will it look like?
View some photographs of telecoms infrastructure in other churches.

Example of Desktop Feasibility Report
This helps the PCC make any decisions.

Are you interested in hosting mobile phone infrastructure in your church?

Please note that it is up to the network operator to decide where they want to place infrastructure, but you can register your interest by filling in this form. 

Background

For over 25 years churches have been hosting mobile phone infrastructure to provide service to people in the area, and this role has become more important with the advent of smartphones and other equipment which needs a connection to the internet. In February 2018, an Accord was signed between the Government and the National Church Institutions to support this further and in particular to support poorly-served areas in the country.

One of the commitments made by the National Church Institutions was to make available a national framework contract to make the process of placing such infrastructure in a church building as easy and efficient as possible.

This agreement with NET CS is the result.