Research by uSwitch indicates that 5G alone will not resolve rural connectivity problems across Britain.
The study found that one third of adult smartphone users still experience difficulties connecting to 4G at least once a week. OpenSignal data shows that every UK region faces 4G availability challenges, with the South West affected most severely:
Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at uSwitch, commented:
“With so many of us completely reliant on our smartphones these days for our news, work, shopping and social media updates, there is little more frustrating than being unable to connect to phone services which we pay for.
Ofcom reports that 66% of the UK has 4G coverage from all major providers, but more than 23 million people are still facing difficulties connecting to their networks.
This can sometimes be blamed on network congestion at busy times, but often the capacity simply isn’t there for the numbers of people wanting to access a service they have paid for.”
Many consumers currently do not plan to upgrade to 5G, in part because initial rollouts target major cities and urban areas.
uSwitch notes that because mobile providers are prioritising urban 5G launches, only 28 percent of the UK was expected to have 5G coverage by the end of 2019. Just one in seven consumers (14%) planned to upgrade to 5G within a year, and only 19 percent believed it would improve their connectivity.
“The arrival of next-generation infrastructure should help with some of the problems currently experienced by 4G users,” Doku added. “But this will not be an overnight solution, particularly as fewer than one in seven of us is planning to upgrade to 5G in the next year.”
This research was released days after the UK government pledged £5 billion to deliver gigabit broadband to every home by 2025.
Originally, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged “full-fibre” broadband to every home by 2025, criticizing the previous target of 2033 as insufficiently ambitious. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said the government should commit to delivering full-fibre across the country much sooner rather than in the mid-2030s.
More recently, the government has shifted to the term “gigabit broadband,” which can include technologies such as 5G and Virgin Media’s DOCSIS 3.1 as well as FTTP (Fibre-to-the-Premises). Including these broader technologies makes a 2025 target more feasible, though still ambitious. Procurement processes, legal hurdles and the need to train large numbers of engineers could each take significant time to resolve, potentially delaying rapid nationwide deployment.
“The industry cannot use the launch of 5G as a band-aid to cover up the shortcomings of 4G,” Doku warned. “Providers must work with communities to improve connectivity, especially in rural areas, to prevent millions of people being left stranded on technology two generations out of date.”
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