First of 86 UK Gov-Funded 4G Mobile Mast Upgrades Go Live in Wales

The Government has today announced that the first of 86 new state aid supported 4G mobile masts in rural parts of Wales have been upgraded and switched-on. The work forms part of the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network project (i.e. extending 4G mobile / broadband cover to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025) with EE, Three UK, O2 and Vodafone.

The SRN – supported by £501m of public funding and £532m from the network operators – involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between the operators (MNO). But the 95% target is only when service is available from at least one operator, while the UK coverage forecast for SRN completion for all operators is actually 84% (i.e. geographic areas where you’ll be able to take 4G from all providers).

The latest progress update, released today, notes that the first of 86 4G masts have been switched-on in Wales this month, benefitting residents, tourists, and business owners and boosting economic growth in areas such as Pont-rhyd-y-groes, Ysbyty Ystwyth, LLanafan, Tynygraig, and West Fedw and Trawsgoed.

The masts reflect existing sites that have been upgraded to deliver 4G coverage over a wider area. This element of the SRN programme sees the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology provide £184m of the £500m public SRN funding to the Home Office and mobile network operators to help upgrade Extended Area Service (EAS) masts being built as part of the Emergency Services Network (ESN), which helps to eliminate total not-spot areas.

Digital Infrastructure Minister, Julia Lopez, said:

“Bad mobile signal can cause people immense frustration and hold back businesses in rural areas.

This is why I’ve made it my absolute priority to ensure that no one feels like they are being left behind because of the lack of reliable signal.

I’m thrilled to see our rollout signalling the end of mobile blackspots in rural Wales in Powys County. Everyone – from residents and business-owners to tourists – can access future-proof mobile connectivity and enjoy the opportunities it unlocks.”

A further two 4G masts are due to be switched on soon in the villages of Esgair Maen and Bronfelin. The remaining masts of the 86 strong batch in Wales will then be switched on “over the coming months“. The Government notes that there will be a total of 292 EAS sites across Great Britain, including the 86 in Wales, although not all of those will be commercially upgraded due to various technical or value for money reasons.

The progress, while positive, follows after a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) confirmed that Three UK, Vodafone and O2 are “each likely to miss their Ofcom licence obligation to provide 88% 4G coverage by June 2024” (this reflects the first target for tackling Partial Not-Spot (PNS) areas) and have requested to “discuss an 18-month extension to the PNS element of the programme” (here). By comparison, EE has already achieved the target and that occurred six months ahead of schedule (here).

After that, Ofcom has also set a deadline for improvements in Total Not-Spot (TNS) areas of early 2027, which is currently not being affected by the delays. Just to be clear, Ofcom’s licence obligations commit each individual operator to increase its 4G coverage to 88% of UK landmass by June 2024 – and to 90% by January 2027 – with these individual obligations supporting the overall target of 95% by December 2025.