The Social Market Foundation – a cross-party think tank – today called on the Government to implement a ‘new deal for 5G’ that will remove obstacles preventing 5G infrastructure from being built and dramatically improve the UK’s standing in connectivity league tables.
The UK currently ranks bottom of 15 developing and advanced international markets on both 5G availability and download speeds (see notes).
The think tank found that an investment shortfall of between £20-37bn will prevent 5G from being rolled out widely in the UK by 2030, despite the government’s stated ambition of ensuring every home and business benefits from 5G by the end of the decade.
This shortfall has been caused by uncertainty about future demand, declining revenues and profitability challenges for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), changes to the way the market for mobile telecoms infrastructure works, problems in the planning system and land supply issues which are reflected by a big jump in litigation between landowners and infrastructure providers.
The government’s own analysis has found that the cumulative economic gain from ubiquitous 5G coverage by 2035 could be as high as £159 billion, with the greatest gains likely to be made by businesses and the public sector.
In its report Network failure: How the UK can reverse its fortunes to meet its 5G targets – sponsored by AP Wireless – SMF argues for a ‘new deal for 5G’, in order to address each aspect of the broken 5G delivery landscape.
Among its recommendations is that the government should move away from the current failing policy approach and start from a new blueprint that would include the following:
- Higher public sector involvement in stimulating demand for 5G services – whether by public procurement or by revamp the 5G trials to demonstrate use cases across a different sectors.
- A new look into market structure – policymakers need to consider whether UK’s rising dependence on a limited number of Wireless Infrastructure Providers is delivering the long-term 5G infrastructure investment the UK needs.
- Cease auctions as the method of allocating spectrum (radio frequency) to MNOs in the future and eliminate the related annual fees levied on them. It should be replaced with clearly defined 5G investment guarantees – which the telecoms regulator Ofcom can hold them to account for.
- Reforming the Electronic Communications Code so that landowners and operators positions are more balanced in the siting of mobile infrastructure avoiding a further escalation of exploding litigation that would ensue from simply expanding the current approach through the implementation of the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act 2022.
- Overhauling the planning system to ensure that government and councils take a more strategic view of mobile infrastructure applications based upon being required to produce a digital strategy and have a Digital Champion that oversees its development and implementation.
Richard Hyde, Senior Researcher at Social Market Foundation, said:
“There is need for a new policy approach to the problem of UK’s poor 5G connection. Mobile network operators have been disincentivised from investing in much-needed 5G infrastructure by a range of issues regarding demand, planning process, land access litigation and the structure of the telecoms market.
To ensure that UK is not languishing at the bottom of a league table far behind the likes of Italy, India and South Korea, and for businesses, public sector, and consumers to benefit from widespread 5G availability, the government will have to enact a suite of measures – and nothing short of it.
The UK has let the issue of poor 5G remain despite stated ambitions, but it is now time for action.”
Thomas Evans, EVP North Atlantic at APWireless, said:
“ We need to take stock of the 5G policy landscape and market dynamics which have emerged in recent years, particularly the emergence of Wireless Infrastructure Providers (WIPs). This analysis from the Social Market Foundation shines a light on the policy barriers that hamper the UK’s 5G connectivity, and which leave it languishing at the bottom of international league tables for performance.
Its findings show that widespread, high-quality 5G could boost the UK’s economy by £159 billion by 2035, equivalent to more than £500 per person. However, with a £20 billion investment gap, we urgently need to address the vested interests which are holding back investment in the UK’s mobile infrastructure market. We need to start by reviewing the counter-productive intervention by the previous government in the land market which has diverted resources from network rollout into costly litigation as this is acting as a brake on the widespread adoption of 5G.”
Notes
- The SMF report will be published at https://www.smf.co.uk/publications/new-deal-for-5g-in-uk/on 11th December, 2024 at 5 AM.
- The report is sponsored by AP Wireless. The SMF retains full editorial independence.
Contact
- For media enquiries, please contact Impact Officer Richa Kapoor, at richa@smf.co.uk
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