Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to his Department's document entitled A new electronic communications code, published in May 2015, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the level of rents for telecoms landlords since 2017 on levels of network coverage.

The document entitled ‘A New Electronic Communications Code’ was a report published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport under the 2015 to 2016 Cameron Conservative government. The report detailed Government proposals to overhaul the Code, following extensive consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders.

Subsequently, the Electronic Communications Code was reformed initially by the Digital Economy Act 2017, and then by Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022. Government has no plans to conduct a formal review of the 2017 reforms before commencing the remaining sections of the 2022 Act.

Based on Ofcom reporting, 4G geographic coverage from at least one operator has increased from 78% in 2017 to 96% in July 2025. Ofcom also reports that 5G geographic coverage from at least one operator has reached 65% in July 2025 from the start of its rollout in 2019.