Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Acknowledged
Set out 5G investment achievements and establish meaningful targets for standalone 5G rollout.
Recommendation
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
Government Response Summary
The government agrees but states it has set an "ambition" for 5G coverage, not a specific target, and monitors this via Ofcom's reports. It notes previous 5G Testbeds and Trials programme outcomes were evaluated in 2023 and commits to providing evaluations of current programmes (Open Networks Programme and 5G Innovation Regions) upon their conclusion in 2025.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. government subsidy. That is why the department set an ambition for standalone 5G to all populated areas, rather a specific target, through the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy. The department monitors progress against its ambition by using the 5G coverage data published in Ofcom’s Connected Nations report. The Strategy also included a comprehensive framework of demand and supply side interventions to support 5G deployment by the MNOs. The department continues to work with industry to understand what further interventions are needed to support 5G investment. The 5G Testbeds and Trials programme, completed in 2021, highlighted the benefits of 5G and tested innovative applications and deployment methods. This helped businesses and the public sector understand the benefits of 5G, how to adopt them and accelerated the development and deployment of open interface architectures. The interim evaluation for the programme was published in 2023 and informed the government’s 5G ambitions set out in the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy. The Open Networks Programme, which aims to support diversity of supply in the UK’s 5G supply chain, and the 5G Innovation Regions are still in delivery. The 5G Innovation Regions are delivering 5G solutions across the UK, helping the public sector and businesses develop their use cases for 5G while building up local infrastructure. The department will provide an evaluation of these programmes following their conclusion in 2025.