Wales UK Moots Taller Mobile Masts to Improve Network Cover

One of the historic problems with improving mobile network (2G, 3G and 4G etc.) coverage has been the fact that local laws often limit their height in order to placate NIMBYs. But this is slowly changing and the Welsh Government are looking to follow suit.

Plans are already afoot in England to relax the regulation and allow future masts that can reach up to 25 metres high (well above the previous 15 metre limit) and in Scotland we may even see some that reach 50 metres, which could be very beneficial for those who live in some of the most remote and hilly or down right mountainous areas.

In fact there may also be some 50 metre masts in England too if AirBand’s new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband roll-out gets the all clear across the Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks (here). But so far Wales has yet to cement a similar policy shift of its own.

However this could soon change after the Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, began working with mobile operators in order to propose a relaxation of existing planning regulations.

Alun Cairns said (Wales Online):

“Operators need to invest but also planning and regulation needs to support taller pylons to extend coverage as far as possible and get the number of people using mobile phones higher. … It’s important Wales is proactive. I want Wales to be in a position where operators find it at least as easy as England to invest.”

As usual the proposal has plenty of merit, but if a huge new mast goes up down your road then it’s easy to understand how such developments could cause annoyance within the community. On the other hand we’ve also seem some fairly small and inconspicuous masts cause problems in Swindon (here).