Have you been approached by a company wanting to install telecoms equipment on your church building? If so, please click here.

Mobile-network and broadband technologies have revolutionised daily home and work life for many of us in recent years. And the part they play in our places of worship can be just as important. If you're interested in exploring how connectivity can serve your church, and help your church serve your community, find out what other churches have done here.

Why get connected?

A Donation Point in St Martin-in-the-Fields

Whether you’re able to gain access to Superfast fibre-optic broadband, or a strong mobile-network signal, the potential benefits of telecoms technology for church buildings are many.

Included here are case studies and suggestions for just some of the many ways you can harness connectivity to benefit your church and the wider community.

What solutions are available?

Masts on the Tower of St Mary The Virgin, Walkhampton

If you already have a good broadband connection available in your church building, click here to read about what you can do with it.

If you haven't yet got your building connected, the technical solutions available to you will depend on your building’s size, location, and situation.

Mobile Broadband Aerials Inside the Stained Glass Window as St Mary's, Bluntisham

Depending on what sort of connectivity you're considering, and what infrastructure it requires, you may need to obtain a faculty from your diocese. And if a supplier is to use your church building to host their equipment, you might need to prepare a licence agreement to set out terms.

Once you've found out what solutions are available to you, read more about the legal side here.

Grants and funding

A stylised cross on wood panelling in St Michael's church, Martlesham Heath

Further to the charitable grants available to cathedrals and church buildings, the Government frequently offers connectivity-specific grants and funding options which could be useful for getting broadband and mobile coverage into (and around) your church building.

You can find out if any grants are available to you here.


Source URL: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/connectivity