The chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, Lord Adonis, has written to the head of Ofcom urging the telecoms regulator to address what he calls “deplorable” mobile phone coverage across the UK.
In his letter, Lord Adonis asks Ofcom to “put all options on the table” to improve mobile coverage between now and the next mobile spectrum auction. He argues that decisive action is needed to tackle persistent coverage gaps, particularly in rural areas.
Large parts of the country remain without reliable coverage
Last week, Ofcom published its annual assessment of UK mobile and broadband coverage. Overall the report contains positive signs: so-called “superfast” broadband, defined as download speeds of 30 Mbit/s or more, is now available to 91 percent of homes, up from 89 percent last year. Mobile coverage also increased by seven percentage points compared with the previous year.
Despite these improvements, mobile coverage remains inadequate in many places. Ofcom’s latest figures show it is possible to make a call on all four major mobile networks across just 70 percent of the UK’s land mass. That leaves roughly a third of the country without reliable voice connectivity, and many of those areas lack mobile data services altogether.
Lord Adonis writes: “Large parts of the country remain without reliable coverage, with almost a third of the UK’s geography unable to receive a signal from all four operators.”
Indoor 4G coverage has improved nationally—from 40 percent to 58 percent this year—but the gains are uneven. In rural locations, Lord Adonis highlights that nearly four out of every five premises are still unable to receive an indoor 4G service, a shortfall with clear implications for residents, businesses and emergency services.
UK mobile operators previously committed to providing 90 percent geographic coverage by the end of the year. That target now looks unlikely to be met, and Lord Adonis urges Ofcom to take any failure to meet those obligations into account when designing and conducting the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.
One specific policy under consideration is mandatory roaming. Under this approach, operators would be required to allow customers to connect temporarily to a rival network where their own signal is absent. Lord Adonis recommends that Ofcom reassess mandatory roaming as a potential tool if operators continue to fall short of their coverage promises.
When mandatory roaming was last debated in early 2014, operators rejected the idea and instead pledged to invest around £5 billion in expanding the UK’s mobile infrastructure. They argued at the time that mandatory roaming could undermine incentives to build networks in rural areas. Lord Adonis’s letter suggests that, given current progress, regulators should revisit whether market incentives alone are delivering the required coverage improvements.
Lord Adonis’s letter to Ofcom includes recommendations aimed at ensuring future spectrum allocations and regulatory measures deliver better coverage outcomes for the whole country. He stresses the importance of considering tougher regulatory options and additional obligations on operators to ensure coverage targets are met and rural communities are not left behind.
You can read Lord Adonis’ full letter to Ofcom here (PDF)
What measures do you think Ofcom should take to improve mobile coverage? Share your views in the comments.