Seven More 4G Mobile Mast Upgrades Go Live Across Rural Wales

The UK government (DSIT) has this morning announced that seven more 4G (mobile broadband) mast upgrades have gone live across North, South West and West Wales as part of the £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project. The work will benefit parts of Bontddu, Llanelltyd, Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Penmaenpool, Tabor, Snowdonia National Park and Bontgoch.

The industry-led SRN – supported by £501m of public funding and £532m from 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). The target is to extend geographic 4G coverage (aggregate) to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025, which falls to 84% when only considering the areas where you’ll be able to take 4G from all providers.

Most of the early work on the SRN has involved private investment from the main mobile network operators, although over the past year we’ve also seen government-funded mast upgrades taking place in other parts of the UK (examples here, here and here), as well as new mast builds (here).

The UK government have so far helped to fund 26 mast upgrades (this excludes those upgraded or built via private investment through the SRN) and a total of 20 of these upgrades are based in Wales, with more being planned to follow over the “coming months“.

Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:

“From applying for jobs to staying in touch with loved ones, fast and reliable connectivity is an essential part of modern life and should be the digital reality for communities from Llandudno to Cardiff, which is why the upgrades announced today are a welcome step forward.

But we cannot ignore the fact that millions of people need support when it comes to navigating the online world. That’s why this government is committed to boosting digital skills no matter people live, to support people accessing essential services like banking, or education tools, helping them to get on with their lives and work.”

The mobile connectivity boost announced today has been carried out by upgrading existing mobile masts, which previously only connected EE customers and anyone making 999 calls (ESN sites), meaning communities can benefit from improved mobile internet access without the impacts of building new masts. The UK government is investing £184m to upgrade similar Extended Area Service (EAS) masts to provide coverage from all four mobile operators.

The government and the UK’s four mobile network operators ultimately aim for the SRN to provide coverage to an additional 280,000 premises and 16,000km of the UK’s roads.