UK mobile operators were presented with a clear choice: accept a national roaming arrangement or commit to improving basic coverage to reach at least 90% of the UK’s land area by 2017. EE, O2, Three and Vodafone opted for the latter, pledging a guaranteed combined investment of £5 billion in network infrastructure as part of the agreement announced today.
Under the deal, “basic” coverage—defined as reliable voice and text services—must reach 90% of the UK’s geographic area. In addition, operators must deliver “full” coverage, which includes mobile internet services, to at least 85% of the country, up from an estimated 69% today. The UK government will not provide direct funding for these upgrades, but it will support deployment by granting access to government-owned freehold buildings for installing equipment.
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the agreement, saying it locks in commitments from the operators and will address persistent mobile blackspots across the country:
“I am pleased to have secured a legally binding deal with the four mobile networks. Too many parts of the UK regularly suffer from poor mobile coverage leaving them unable to make calls or send texts. Government and businesses have been clear about the importance of mobile connectivity, and improved coverage, so this legally binding agreement will give the UK the world-class mobile phone coverage it needs and deserves. The £5bn investment from the mobile networks in the UK’s infrastructure will help drive this Government’s long-term economic plan.”
Analysts generally view the coverage deal as the preferable option, and the operators themselves gave supportive statements highlighting their investment plans and customer benefits.
EE CEO Olaf Swantee noted the company’s focus on expanding reach:
“EE is focused on bringing the best voice and data service to its customers across the UK, and only last week announced 1,500 unconnected villages will soon benefit from EE coverage. This agreement ensures that our customers are able to stay connected in even more places up and down the country.”
Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer of O2, framed the agreement as a partnership that balances investment and competition:
“A partnership between government and the mobile operators is required to maximise coverage across the UK, so this agreement is a good outcome for our customers. It will support investment in our network, while ensuring that strong competition remains between the different networks.”
Three’s Chief Executive, Dave Dyson, emphasised continued network growth and customer experience:
“We’ve doubled the size of our network in the past five years and we continue to invest to maintain a great network experience for our customers. Today’s agreement reflects the strength of our network today, our plans for the future and our commitment to bring its benefits to more people and more places than ever before.”
A Vodafone UK spokesperson highlighted the company’s ongoing spending and the expected consumer benefits:
“We support the Government’s objective of delivering better coverage to rural areas including partial not spots. This is why Vodafone is already spending £1 billion on our network and services in the UK this year alone and will continue to spend a similar amount next year as well.
The voluntary industry commitment we have agreed with the Government today will deliver 90 per cent of the UK’s land mass with voice services and a major improvement in mobile internet coverage as well. It is a great result for UK consumers and businesses and it will make the UK a leader across Europe in terms of the reach of mobile coverage.”
The alternative to the coverage commitment would have been mandated national roaming, requiring operators to grant access to their networks when a rival operator’s customer had no signal. The government and industry argued that such a measure would be costly to implement, could reduce device battery life, and risked disrupting data services for users.
Adrian Baschnonga, lead telecoms analyst at EY, described the agreement as a notable improvement for users across the country but highlighted remaining challenges:
“Today’s agreement to boost mobile network coverage represents a boon for phone users nationwide. Despite the availability of ever faster 4G services, unreliable rural coverage levels have threatened to undermine improvements to the UK’s digital infrastructure.”
“Initial proposals to solve the issue by allowing customers to switch networks presented a number of logistical challenges, and the promise of additional operator investment helps preserve the existing competitive environment. However, complete geographical coverage remains highly challenging – under current plans, the number of mobile data ‘not spots’ will only be halved by 2017.”
Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator, will monitor progress and hold operators to their commitments, with enforcement measures if targets are missed. This monitoring role may be especially important as government budgets face pressure and public services compete for funding.
Overall, the agreement represents a major industry-led push to improve mobile connectivity across the UK. While the targets are ambitious and full nationwide coverage remains difficult, the combined investment and access to public infrastructure aim to substantially reduce the number of coverage blackspots and expand both basic and full mobile services in rural and underserved areas.
Do you think 90% coverage by 2017 is achievable? Let us know in the comments.