Recommendation 13

The Department’s business case for the programme as a whole identified a range of benefits, such as supporting tourism and business productivity in rural areas. It estimated that the programme would result in quantifiable benefits of £1,352 million. However, the business case included limited evidence of the specific benefits of extending mobile coverage into the more remote or sparsely populated areas, including locations where building masts may be more difficult or expensive, or where there may be an impact on the environment.22 We therefore asked how much of the £1,352 million benefits specifically related to enhanced connectivity in rural areas. The Department was unable to give a 16 C&AG’s Report, para 13 17 Q 25 18 Qq 26, 37 19 Q 25 20 Qq 6, 25; C&AG’s Report, paras 13, 3.15 21 Q 18; C&AG’s Report, para 2.12 22 Q 11; C&AG’s Report, para 9 12 Supporting mobile connectivity specific figure but said that the overwhelming majority of the benefits were in rural areas, because those tended to be the areas where the market has not been fully incentivised to deliver.23