New Toolkit to Aid Scotland’s Rollout of 5G Mobile Broadband

The Infralink programme, which is funded by The Scotland 5G Centre (i.e. it’s one of their key Wave 1 projects), has today launched a “game-changing” initiative that will pave the way for greater 4G and 5G mobile connectivity across Scotland by helping to “identify sites on public buildings for masts and antennae.”

Apparently, this “toolkit” will also ease the process of reaching agreements (wayleaves) to install the necessary kit by “[breaking] down previous barriers to the rollout of 4G and 5G infrastructure” (i.e. Scotland will be the first part of the UK to have national pricing guidance for telecoms), which could in turn “lead to significantly faster deployment and increased investment in digital technology.”

Sadly, the press release doesn’t offer any detail beyond that, but we already know that the Infralink programme will bring together UK and Scottish legal advisors DWF, and technical specialists FarrPoint, to create a series of standardised documents and frameworks to support negotiations.

Infralink is also working with the Connected Places Catapult in order to develop a UK-wide “National Asset Register” that will bring together proprietary and open data to give a better understanding and ease access to physical assets for deployment (i.e. described as a sort of “shop window” for public sector assets).

Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Connectivity Minister, said:

“Infralink has been a game-changing move for Scotland’s mobile connectivity ambitions and will accelerate our commitment to next-generation connectivity, as set out in our 5G strategy for Scotland.

The changes in the way we use digital technology to stay connected over past twelve months have shown how vital reliable digital connectivity is in all of our lives.

Continued investment in mobile infrastructure, and the tools to remove barriers and make collaboration straightforward for all parties involved, is essential to Scotland’s social and economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Sarah Eynon, Infralink Programme Lead at Scottish Futures Trust, said:

“The Infralink programme provides the ideal opportunity for forward-thinking local authorities and public sector organisations to reap the huge benefits from improved connectivity without overburdening their current resources.

It offers a win-win situation for both the public sector and operators, but Scottish citizens and businesses will reap the ultimate rewards.”

All of this will no doubt help to support both the commercial 5G rollout, and the new £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) industry project (split of public and private investment), which has just started on its journey to boost geographic 4G mobile coverage of the UK to 95% by 2026 (here and here).