Devon and Somerset UK Consult on £2.5m Plan to Improve 4G Cover

The joint Connecting Devon and Somerset project has launched a new consultation on their plan to invest £2.5 million of Growth Deal funding into improving indoor 4G mobile data (broadband) coverage across the two counties, which will focus on tackling “not-spots” around the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas.

Sadly the funding available will only allow for pilots across a small number of areas and in order to maximise this investment they intend to focus on areas believed to be absent of indoor 3G and 4G coverage from “any” Mobile Network Operator (MNO).

“This is to ensure our finite funding is targeted at the most isolated of areas with regards to mobile data connectivity … Whilst we will not be able to cover all not-spots identified by this process from the funding available, this process is vital to ensure any investment does not duplicate current and future private and/or community sector efforts,” said the consultation document.

Devon County Council has mapped areas believed to be absent of indoor 3G and 4G coverage from any provider (see below). The map is very rough but based on modelled coverage data underpinning Ofcom’s latest update to their 2017 Connected Nations Report. The deadline for responses is 31st August 2018 and the project is being supported by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSW LEP).