The UK has ranked bottom of 15 developing and advanced international markets on both 5G availability and download speeds, as shown in a new ranking system.
The briefing paper, Growing Connections, authored by the cross-party think tank Social Market Foundation (SMF) found that UK users receiving 5G coverage just 10% of the time, lagging considerably behind other major economies.
The SMF research comes at a time when the Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms Chris Bryant has committed to improving the UK’s digital infrastructure as a key enabler for economic growth, in his speech to Connected Britain 2024. However, as the SMF notes, this is not the first time that the UK government has set out to improve 5G connectivity. In 2023, the then government put together Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, which set out the aim for the UK to have nationwide standalone 5G coverage in all populated areas by 2030. Reality however is not matching political ambition.
The SMF developed a 5G ‘composite connectivity’ league table a measure of both the availability of 5G and achievable download speeds on the network, which shows the UK ranked last among 15 countries (See notes for table). SMF found that UK trails a number of advanced and developing markets in terms of 5G availability, measured by the proportion of time users spent with an active 5G connection. These include India (43%) and South Korea (38%) who are global leaders. The UK is also behind a number of our European peers such as France (20.6%) and Italy (17.9%).
At the core of the UK’s poor mobile connectivity is a lack of investment in next generation technologies and telecommunications infrastructure. Gathering insight through interviewing eminent experts in digital infrastructure, Growing connections argues that barriers to investment include complex planning laws that slow and even prevent the delivery of masts, uncertainty over consumer demand, and the structure of the telecommunications market.
In addition, political reforms have unintentionally hindered investment, including the approach to spectrum and infrastructure cost cutting measures. Leading to unprecedented levels of litigation, hampering rollout and the supply of land as landowners are discouraged from leasing land to mobile networks.
Senior Researcher at the SMF, Richard Hyde, said:
“It is concerning that the UK is at the rock bottom among several emerging and developed economies on 5G connectivity. Until it changes, this will continue to be a significant hinderance to the government’s growth agenda, by denying us major productivity increases, which widespread 5G can help deliver.
It is reassuring that the government has recognised the importance of infrastructure to growth, but there are a range of obstacles that will need to be addressed to ensure 5G mobile can play its role in contributing to growth,.”
“While this paper has set out the poor state of affairs, we will be providing a comprehensive set of solutions in a forthcoming report towards the end of the year.”
Thomas Evans, Executive Vice President, APWireless said:
“There is near-universal agreement that dramatically improving 5G connectivity is essential in order to safeguard the UK’s global competitiveness and drive economic growth.”
“This research asks important and timely questions about why the UK languishes at the bottom of the global league table for 5G connectivity. We believe the government should look closely at the SMF’s initial research as it seeks to meet its objective of attaining the fastest economic growth in the G7.
“By considering these issues in the round the government has an opportunity to secure vast economic and social benefits across the country.”
This briefing comes ahead of a more detailed report due for publication by the SMF later in the year, further exploring the benefits of enhanced mobile connectivity for the economy and how policymakers can support its rollout.
Notes
- The SMF briefing paper, Growing connections, will be accessible at https://www.smf.co.uk/publications/growing-connections-5g-in-uk/ on Monday 7th October, 2024 at 5 AM
