Recommendation 7

The Department’s plans for supporting investment in 5G infrastructure are undeveloped and it has not articulated what it has achieved from taxpayers’ 8 Supporting mobile connectivity investment to date. Since 2017, the Department has committed over £500 million to determine how 5G technology could be used by consumers and businesses in the UK, to promote investment in 5G, and for research into more advanced technologies. The Department has published information on the outcomes of its spending programmes but has not brought information together to make it clear what it has achieved to date. Nor does the Department currently plan to directly support the roll-out of 5G infrastructure in the same way as it has done for 4G. There have been calls for the Government to act quickly to support 5G deployment in areas where the market is unwilling to deliver, but the Department is waiting to see how willing the mobile network operators are to invest and how far the commercial roll-out progresses before deciding if government investment is needed. It has set an ambition for standalone 5G to be available in all populated areas by 2030, but has not yet defined all populated areas or the level of 5G performance it considers the UK needs. Recommendation 7: The Department should set out more clearly what it has achieved from its investment to date in 5G, as well as setting more meaningful and measurable targets for assessing its progress in supporting the roll-out of standalone 5G mobile coverage. Supporting mobile connectivity 9 1 Delivering the Shared Rural Network programme