Over 200 new 4G masts will be built in rural areas of the UK as part of the first phase of the £1.000bn Shared Rural Network (SRN). An agreement was reached last year between the government and the four main operators, EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, to build new sites and share infrastructure in areas of the country that do not have access to the four networks. The operators will invest €530 million to open and share their infrastructure and pay each other access fees. The government will then provide up to £500m to build new pylons at 'no-total points' where there is no 4G coverage from an operator. The goal is to reach 95% of Great Britain's landmass by 2025.
4G shared rural network
As part of this first phase, O2 Three and Vodafone will build 222 sites: 124 in Scotland, 54 in England, 33 in Wales and 11 in Northern Ireland. This expansion will expand the proportion of the UK landmass that can receive a signal from all four operators from 67% to 84%. In Northern Ireland this figure rises from 75% to 85%, in Wales from 58% to 80%, and in England from 81% to 90%. Scotland will benefit the most, increasing total coverage from 42% to 72%. All three operators stress that the number of sites and the pace of deployment will depend on the ability to find suitable sites, provide power and links, and obtain a building permit. "I am delighted to see significant progress being made to ban poor or spotty mobile coverage 'hotspots'," said Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure. “This new infrastructure will unlock the potential of rural communities in all four countries and provide a broader selection of fast and reliable 4G services. “As part of this new shared rural network, the government is also investing £500m in new masts in areas without signals, meaning no one is left behind. The lack of EA in this phase can be explained by its pre-existing coverage advantage over the other three operators and most of the new construction sites will be located in areas where EA is available. EE believes that its first phase commitments can be achieved by updating the site. However, the BT-owned operator will be involved in the next stage of the SRN rollout, which will see government funding used to build new sites. SRN's commitments are subject to the scrutiny of Ofcom, which will have the power to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of an operator's gross revenue if it fails to meet its targets.