The four major UK mobile operators have finally reached an agreement on how the €1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) will be implemented. First announced last year, the SRN will see operators sharing masts in regions of the country that do not have access to all four networks. Operators will invest €530 million to open and share their infrastructure and pay access fees. The government will then provide up to €500 million to build new masts in "total and no locations" where no 4G operator has coverage. The goal is to reach 95% of the British landmass by 2025.
Shared rural network
The conclusion of a final agreement proved difficult, the fees paid between the operators were considered an obstacle. The government was eager to reach a legally binding deal before Thursday's budget. "For too many people in the field, a bad phone signal is daily frustration," digital secretary Oliver Dowden said. "This is an important step to improve the standard of the country, improve people's lives and increase prosperity throughout our UK." The deal ends spectrum from a national roaming network and overly restrictive coverage obligation requirements placed on 5G spectrum licences. However, the commitments are subject to oversight by Ofcom, which can impose fines of up to 10% of an operator's gross revenue if it fails to meet its targets. However, the CEOs of EE, O2, Three and Vodafone are happy that the talks are over. "The shared rural network partnership between mobile operators and government is unprecedented in scope and ambition," said Hamish McLeod, director of industry organization Mobile UK. "Mobile UK looks forward to supporting the delivery of the program in the coming years." "Catastrophic levels of 4G exclude many people from important online services, so plans to remedy this are positive," added Caroline Normand, who? Advocacy Director. "Government and industry must now ensure these plans are delivered to consumers. "We welcome assurances that these improvements will be made swiftly across the UK with continued monitoring and industry will be held accountable for these improvements of coverage".