Asked by: Lord Naseby (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that they are able to meet the targets of the Shared Rural Network programme to deliver 95 per cent 4G mobile coverage across the UK landmass by December 2025.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We continue to work with mobile network operators to ensure the Shared Rural Network is delivered on time and that the crucial coverage improvements are delivered across rural parts of the country. We are also taking steps to provide targeted support where appropriate through, for example, focused information packs and support with planning applications. The programme remains on track to deliver 95% UK 4G coverage by the end of 2025. In fact, 4G coverage now stands at 93% which is up from 91% since the Shared Rural Network was agreed in March 2020. This shows the programme is already delivering improved coverage across the UK.