techUK Finds Room for Improvement in UK 5G and Full Fibre Delivery

techUK, an industry group for many of the UK’s key technology companies, has today published the outcome of their review into the progress that the Government have been making on rolling out both ultrafast 5G based mobile broadband and full fibre networks across the country. Needless to say, a few areas need improvement.

The new report essentially looks at the progress that has been made since the Government published their Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR) in 2018, which set out the foundation for today’s current market and laid the groundwork for the £5bn Project Gigabit broadband rollout programme, as well as the £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project to boost 4G mobile cover into rural areas.

Project Gigabit seeks to extend networks capable of delivering download speeds of 1000Mbps (1Gbps) to reach at least 85% of UK premises by the end of 2025 and then “nationwide” coverage (c.99%) by around 2030 (here), while the SRN aims to extend geographic 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025.

As it stands today, gigabit-capable fixed broadband networks now cover 68% of UK premises (up from 47% in September 2021 and around 5% in 2018), while 48-64% of premises can now get outdoor 5G coverage from at least one operator (Ofcom’s data), although 4G coverage has hardly changed.

UK Gigabit-Capable Coverage by Type (BDUK Corporate Plan)

However, most of the improvements seen thus far have stemmed from commercial investment, which admittedly has been fostered by positive changes from the government and Ofcom (e.g. greater access to Openreach’s cable ducts, voucher schemes, investment programme, a business rates holiday on new fibre and easier access to public land etc.). As a result, today’s infrastructure market is a lot more competitive, which has forced the biggest players to adapt.

The new report recognises the positive progress that has been made in many areas, such as with the huge amount of private investment (£33.2bn) that has flooded the UK market to help fund the rollout of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) networks (See our ‘Summary of UK Full Fibre Builds‘). But it also notes that the path is less clear for other areas, such as 5G, which continues to suffer from a lack of ambition (here) and has been disrupted by the ban on Huawei’s kit.

Matthew Evans, Director for Markets, techUK said:

“It’s great to see the progress made by the UK’s telecoms sector since the FTIR was published in 2018 – there has been positive progress in the face of significant challenges, and broadly it was the right framework.

But in analysing the FTIR’s recommendations, our members have found that more is to be done. Barriers persist, and techUK looks forward to working with both government and Ofcom on smoothing the friction that remains for rolling out fibre and full 5G.”

The report concludes by making a series of recommendations, most of which are fairly generalised and shouldn’t come as any great surprise. No doubt the government would say that they’re already working on a lot of these areas, such as in regard to the proposed visa scheme to help attract more engineers from abroad and extending their PSTI bill to include poles on private land etc.

We’d also agree that the pace of procurements under the Project Gigabit scheme needs to be improved. The first contracts are only now being awarded (example), but some parts of the UK have yet to even enter the procurement phase and thus might not see their contracts being awarded until 2024/25. This is worryingly slow.

On top of that, there’s an interesting suggestion for the Government to “explore ways to use the tax system to incentivise further investment in productivity-enhancing infrastructure“, which in the context touches on the fact that the government’s 100% relief from business rates on new fibre lines has now come to an end in England and Wales (although Scotland has introduced a much longer relief). We’ve often called for a longer relief to match the 10-15 year payback periods on such network builds.

techUK’s Recommendations for Full Fibre and 5G Delivery

➤ Government should continue to prioritise realising the long-term economic and social gains that will be delivered through continued investment in the rollout of full fibre networks and 5G, this prioritisation should include take-up and adoption.

➤ As the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy is finalised, we urge the government to recognise its importance and impact on the future of, and investment in, advanced connectivity in the UK, and we stress that this Strategy will be essential for the long-term growth and productivity in the UK.

➤ Government should retain and strengthen its clear focus on delivering the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill:

For fixed infrastructure: The Bill should extend powers to share infrastructure on private land to poles as well as ducts.

➤ DCMS and DfT must redouble efforts to introduce the flexi permits regime so that it can be activated at the earliest opportunity.

➤ Government should consider a planning regime that genuinely underpins the emerging mobile infrastructure requirements of significant network densification and accelerated deployment models.

➤ Government should explore ways to use the tax system to incentivise further investment in productivity-enhancing infrastructure.

➤ techUK calls on DCMS and the Home Office to introduce a specific visa targeted at telecoms workers to help support infrastructure businesses investing in growth. To address longer-term labour supply and workforce issues, an industry taskforce (with DCMS and the Home Office) should be convened to seek practical and workable solutions to the labour supply challenge

➤ techUK recommends government establishes itself as an anchor tenant for advanced communications services and identify further public sector use cases for 5G and fibre solutions to boost the transition to a digital-first government, unlock smarter procurement; and encourage take-up across the private sector.

➤ Build on the success of the 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme: government must focus on achieving the transfer of ‘trial and test’ activity into commercial deployments at scale, to deliver 5G’s genuine economic benefit to the UK.

➤ techUK recommends renewed energy and urgency is demonstrated by BDUK in contracting procurements as we reach a very important stage of Project Gigabit. Pace needs to increase. Government should accelerate the procurement timetable and bring forward future lots to ensure poorly connected households are not, once again, left behind.

➤ We recommend that appointing more effective and empowered Digital Champions in each local authority would be a useful action for the planning, permitting and coordination between local councils, operators and highways authorities. Increasing understanding and awareness of local decision makers on the economic imperative network deployment is key for the UK going forward.