en.Wedoany.com Reported - June 30 - Polish mobile operator Play has been continuously expanding its network infrastructure along the Baltic coast over the past nine months, preparing for the summer tourist season. The company stated that during the peak season, hundreds of thousands of tourists will flock to coastal areas, with mobile network traffic in some regions increasing by hundreds of percentage points compared to normal levels.
This round of Play's expansion focuses on tourist towns, seaside resorts, and urban hotspots. From September last year to the end of June this year, the operator has built new base stations in Białogóra, Rewa, Ustka in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and Bobolino, Jarosławiec in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Recently, Play has also deployed more base stations in Gdańsk and Gdynia to enhance mobile communication capacity in these two tourist cities during peak hours. This week, Play installed new antenna equipment on the Stilo Lighthouse in Osieczniki, Choczewo Commune, Pomeranian Voivodeship. Facing the coastline and surrounding tourist areas, the new antennas will improve mobile signal coverage and data connection experience for nearby users after being put into operation.
The communication pressure in coastal tourist areas is distinctly seasonal. Towns with normally limited populations experience a concentrated influx of tourists during the summer, leading to simultaneous increases in mobile internet usage, navigation, short video uploads, mobile payments, hotel and B&B bookings, online ticket purchases, and emergency communications.
This traffic fluctuation places higher demands on operator network planning. If base stations are configured only based on the permanent resident population, the peak season is prone to network slowdowns, unstable connections, and local congestion. Play's expansion of the coastal network nine months in advance indicates that the operator is reconfiguring infrastructure based on peak tourist traffic, rather than making temporary fixes after congestion occurs. New base stations expand coverage, while additional antennas and capacity upgrades enhance concurrent connection capabilities in hotspot areas. For locations such as beaches, lighthouses, docks, hotel districts, scenic roads, and city centers, network quality directly impacts tourist experience and also affects local merchants' online payments, order reception, and service operations.
Play emphasizes that network expansion in tourist towns is one of its annual priority tasks. The company invests every year in building new base stations and upgrading existing infrastructure capacity to ensure fast internet and reliable connections for users during the summer.
Such construction not only serves tourists but also improves long-term communication conditions for local residents and businesses. Coastal areas' dining, accommodation, retail, transportation, cultural tourism services, and emergency management are increasingly reliant on mobile networks. After base station expansion, merchants can more stably use cash register systems, food delivery platforms, video surveillance, and customer service tools, while local governments can better support public safety, traffic management, and tourism administration. As 5G applications, high-definition video, and mobile work continue to grow, network construction in tourist destinations will shift from "filling coverage gaps" to "ensuring capacity, stability, and peak experience."
Play's continuous addition of base stations along the Baltic coast reflects that Polish operators are incorporating seasonal tourist traffic into network infrastructure planning. The summer peak is no longer just a short-term communication pressure but an important scenario for testing mobile network resilience, capacity redundancy, and hotspot assurance capabilities.
