Vodafone has been appointed to lead the next phase of Breathe London, the Mayor of London’s air quality monitoring programme.
Vodafone will head a four-year initiative to manage and expand the city’s pollution sensor network.
The programme brings together 146 existing sensor sites across London and aims to improve the quality, coverage and accessibility of air pollution data. Vodafone will coordinate a consortium including Global Action Plan, Airly, Ricardo, Scotswolds CERC, and the University of Cambridge.
Vodafone will provide IoT connectivity and use its existing network infrastructure to support the sensor network, working with Ontix and SRL to identify new monitoring locations. The approach builds on a Vodafone pilot in Glasgow, where air quality sensors were mounted on mobile base station masts.
The consortium will apply established calibration and data assurance techniques to align sensor outputs with reference-grade monitors. Air quality data will be made available through a new public website.
Community outreach will be led by environmental charity Global Action Plan, with funding support from Clean Air Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The engagement programme will focus on schools, hospitals, and local authorities.
The project is part of efforts to improve transparency and public understanding of pollution levels across the capital.
