Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the resilience of mobile networks in Surrey Heath constituency.

Residents in all areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.

Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.

Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers. The Government looks forward to the rapid conclusion of that work.

The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time. This will include Surrey Heath as well as all areas of the country and will help strengthen resilience of mobile networks.

The Government also continues to support investment from Industry to improve mobile resilience. VodafoneThree has committed to invest £11 billion to upgrade their joint networks. BT/EE have publicly announced that they share the same 2030 ambition as the Government and significant investment plans are underway by Virgin Media O2 and other providers. On 10 February, the Government launched the “Mobile Market Review: call for evidence”, which will support unlocking further invest in comprehensive high-quality mobile coverage.

New technology will also play a key role in mobile resilience. The Government does not expect satellite Direct to Device connectivity to replace terrestrial networks, but it can supplement coverage in areas where provision is poor or enable it where no connectivity is currently available.

The new Emergency Services Network (ESN), which is due to become live by 2029, will also strengthen power resilience for a large number of mobile masts across the country.