Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Thirty-Fifth Report - Supporting mobile connectivity
Public Accounts Committee
HC 650
Published 28 May 2024
Recommendations
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 …
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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.
HM Treasury
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24
Acknowledged
Department lacks visibility on Shared Rural Network progress due to commercially sensitive operator data.
Recommendation
We asked the Department how it will know whether it has achieved its premises and roads targets and whether there was a risk of getting to the end of 2025 without being able to assess progress.45 The Department told us …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data, including for roads and premises, is published and expanded, and will engage to consider tracking methods by January 2027, with a target implementation date of January 2025.
HM Treasury
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33
Acknowledged
Department reluctant to directly fund 5G infrastructure, prioritizing commercially-led rollout approach
Recommendation
The mobile service company Ericsson wrote to us about the UK National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) Second National Infrastructure Assessment which stated that the government should prepare to act fast to support 5G deployment in areas where the market is unwilling …
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Government Response Summary
The government reaffirms its commercially-led approach to 5G deployment without subsidy, stating it monitors progress, implements demand/supply interventions, and continues to work with industry to understand future intervention needs. It highlights ongoing programmes like Open Networks and 5G Innovation Regions.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (5)
5
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department lacks up to date information to track progress on whether the Shared Rural Network programme will meet its targets for increasing connectivity on roads and premises. In addition to the overall target to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass, the Department also aims to provide …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states BDUK is committed to working with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data continues to be published. BDUK is engaging with Ofcom to consider publishing more granular figures in upcoming statistical updates and exploring ways to track roads and premises coverage before Ofcom's 2027 assessment.
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department told us that it does have some numbers on the increased coverage of roads and premises, but that they are unverified and it is not confident in them.48 The Department estimates that, since the start of the programme, coverage on roads has improved by about 11 percentage points. …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states it will work with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data, including for roads and premises, continues to be published and expanded, and will engage with Ofcom to consider publishing more granular figures and tracking methods by January 2027.
27
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Connectivity along major rail routes remains poor. Passengers can struggle to make calls, stream videos or work online. The Department told us that improving connectivity on railways is challenging. It explained that it is hard for the signal to penetrate through tunnels, deep cuttings and safety glass on modern trains. …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the conclusion about poor rail connectivity and associated challenges, outlining plans with Ofcom to report on rail coverage and a DfT study to establish baseline data by early 2025.
32
Conclusion
Acknowledged
While we could see the logic of demonstrating the benefits of 5G, the sums involved have been large, and we were concerned that commercial operators could have worked out themselves what benefits they could get from standalone 5G without government intervention.62 We asked the Department when it expected to see …
Government Response Summary
The government highlights that standalone 5G deployment is commercially funded, while referencing existing initiatives such as the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy and monitoring progress via Ofcom data. It mentions past 5G Testbeds and Trials and ongoing Open Networks and 5G Innovation Regions, with an evaluation due in 2025.
34
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Department has stated that it wants to see standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030.66 Although non-standalone 5G is more widely available, the Department thinks it unlikely to meet the UK’s future connectivity needs. The Department has yet to define what it means by populated areas or to …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's observation, reiterating that standalone 5G deployment is an ambition, not a target due to commercial funding, and states it monitors progress via Ofcom's reports and will evaluate ongoing programs by 2025.