Our partners
Overview
Every September, the Defender Burghley Horse Trials welcomes around 175,887 spectators over four days, showcasing elite equestrian competition amid the scenic grounds of Burghley House.
Building on the success of our Special Events deployments, Cornerstone delivered a fully managed 30-metre Gravity Based Solution (GBS) for Virgin Media O2, providing robust, high-capacity 5G-ready infrastructure across the entire venue.
Our response to the challenge
The Defender Burghley Horse Trials is one of the UK’s premier sporting events, bringing together riders, spectators, traders, media and organisers in a high-footfall environment where reliable connectivity is essential.
This year, Cornerstone worked with Virgin Media O2 to plan, deliver and service a temporary 30m mobile mast on-site. The fully managed deployment ensured comprehensive 5G coverage across the event site, supporting seamless communication, improved customer engagement and operational readiness at elite sporting scale.
Making a difference on the ground
“At Burghley Horse Trials, Cornerstone’s infrastructure allowed us to deliver the level of 5G performance our customers expect. Their Special Events approach combined competent technical delivery with seamless coordination on the ground, resulting in a noticeably improved experience for spectators, vendors, and organisers.”
Richard La Roche, Special Events Manager, Virgin Media O2
“This deployment underscores our commitment to resilience, adaptability and excellence in delivering wireless infrastructure under pressure. We’re proud to have supported Cornerstone and Virgin Media O2 in enhancing the digital experience at such an iconic venue.”
Lee Williams, Director, X-Cell Telecom
“Delivering high-capacity mobile infrastructure for events of this scale takes precision planning and technical agility. At Burghley, our teams worked closely with Virgin Media O2 to ensure the 30m GBS mast was deployed, integrated, and serviced to the highest standard. It’s a great example of how our Special Events proposition can translate complex requirements into seamless delivery on the ground.”
Pamandip Kang, Technical Solutions and Product Manager, Cornerstone
The result
The equestrian venue’s expansive layout and trade village benefitted from consistent connectivity, enabling mobile trading, press operations and visitor interactions to run without network bottlenecks.
Organisers, competitors and spectators alike remarked on the noticeably improved reliability and speed this year, especially during peak moments across the event.
Why connectivity matters at national sporting events
At high-footfall national sporting events, connectivity is no longer optional, it’s core to experience, safety and commerce. Reliable 5G enables immediate social and media sharing, seamless transactions and coordination for on-site teams and emergency services.
“This deployment sets a new standard for what temporary, high-capacity mobile infrastructure can deliver. By enabling reliable 5G at Burghley, we’ve ensured that Virgin Media O2’s customers, staff and partners stay connected when it matters most.”
– Pat Coxen, CEO, Cornerstone
Our services
- Temporary mobile mast deployment (30m GBS)
- Special Events proposition: managed infrastructure for major sporting and public gatherings
- End-to-end delivery and servicing
- Partner coordination with Virgin Media O2, councils, landowners and event organisers
- Stakeholder engagement across public and private sectors
- Supporting national venues and high-footfall events