The deal will take 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by end of 2025.
Background: Improving mobile coverage outside of major cities in the UK has long been a policy goal. The previous Conservative government agreed a new framework with the industry to address the problem, and the pledge was included in the Conservative party’s manifesto ahead of the General Election of December 2019 with a view to sign it off within the first 100 days of Government.
The day has come: On 9 March 2020, the Government’s Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, announced he will meet with the country’s four MNOs to sign the £1bn deal. The four operators have committed to legally binding contracts and investing £532m to close almost all partial not-spots, i.e. areas where there is currently only coverage from at least one but not all operators. This investment will then be backed by about £500m of government funding to eliminate total not-spots, i.e. hard-to-reach areas where there is currently no coverage from any operator. This will provide new digital infrastructure in total not spot areas not commercially viable for the operators.
What to expect: The agreement is expected to provide coverage to 280,000 premises and 16,000 km of roads. Some indirect benefits would include a boost to ‘in-car’ coverage on around 45,000 km of road, and better indoor coverage in around 1.2m business premises and homes. Coverage in some areas is expected to improve by more than a third, and especially in rural parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Overall, MNOs are committing to deliver 95% combined coverage across the UK by the end of 2025. Ofcom will have the power to enforce the commitments by fining up to 10% of an operator’s gross revenue if they fail to meet their targets.
