Mobile Operators Plea with UK Gov to Support 5G Upgrade via Tax Cuts and Planning
Industry trade body Mobile UK, which represents Three UK, EE, O2 and Vodafone, has published a new report from Assembly Research that calls on the government to “secure the UK’s economic growth goals and maintain its competitive standing” by supporting their familiar wish list of demands to help boost the roll-out and coverage of mobile networks (4G, 5G etc.).
The current government previously made clear that they would be making a “renewed push to fulfil the ambition of full gigabit and national 5G coverage by 2030” (here). Naturally, broadband and mobile operators have not been shy about producing their own wish lists for what this could mean (here, here, here and here), which for mobile operators has often been reflected in calls for a more flexible planning system, lower licence fees for radio spectrum and easier engagement with local authorities.
However, the story so far has been one of disappointment, at least for the mobile operators. Despite their lobbying, the government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB), introduced on 11th March 2025, and Autumn Budget, largely seemed to ignore mobile networks, preferring instead to focus on other sectors, such as energy, housing and transport.
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Meanwhile, reports from earlier this year (here) also appeared to indicate that the government might be looking to cut some of its £501m of support for the £1bn industry-led Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme and its efforts to extend 4G coverage into remote rural areas. But the exact outcome of those discussions remains unclear.
Suffice to say that the new report – ‘Mobile Infrastructure Investment: The UK’s Route to Growth‘, commissioned by Mobile UK and conducted by Assembly Research, marks another attempt by mobile operators to have the government recognise their impact on the economy (it claims that every £1 invested can generate £5 for the wider economy) and “take immediate action to stimulate increased investment“. This includes the usual batch of familiar recommendations.
Key Recommendations by Mobile Operators
While the Government has successfully incentivised private sector investment in the fixed broadband market, Mobile UK asserts that a similar policy focus is now essential for mobile infrastructure.
The Assembly Research report identifies crucial areas where government intervention will significantly boost investment and benefit the economy, including:
➤ Repurposing ALFs [annual licence fees] to improve mobile coverage and capacity.
➤ Revising planning rules to facilitate network deployments.
➤ Implementing the PSTI Act now and in full.
➤ Introducing a business rates holiday on new mobile infrastructure.
➤ Evolving the UK’s net neutrality regime.
➤ Supporting operators’ plans to switch off 2G services.
➤ Appointing digital champions to help expedite 5G rollouts.
➤ Tackling not-spots via the Shared Rural Network programme.
The operators appear to be hoping that they can encourage the government to address these “missed opportunities” via the upcoming Spending Review and Infrastructure Strategy.
Hamish MacLeod, Chief Executive of Mobile UK, said:
“The Government has rightly identified growth as its top priority and called on the UK’s telecoms industry to help strengthen the economy. Now, it’s crucial for the Government to prioritise mobile infrastructure, enabling operators to accelerate investment in coverage and capacity.
This will be fundamental to underpinning growth and fostering innovation throughout the UK economy, and the upcoming Spending Review and Infrastructure Strategy are key moments to demonstrate this commitment.”
The government has so far talked up a big game around areas like planning reform, although they’ve also suffered somewhat of a public backlash to recent tax rises and other changes that could make them even more risk-averse than usual. This is a problem because mobile infrastructure has always been a bit of a hot potato, with many people often objecting to the construction of new mobile masts and related kit, despite their importance.
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We’d be surprised if the forthcoming Spending Review delivered many big changes for the operators, although it would be equally surprising if the future Infrastructure Strategy overlooked the sector. Some of the things that the new report desires also stray into tedious areas like Net Neutrality (i.e. measures to prevent serious blocking or slowing of access to legal websites / internet services), which can be very divisive topics and has only recently been reviewed by the regulator.
Elsewhere, Ofcom are currently looking to reduce Annual Licence Fees (ALF) in some radio spectrum bands, albeit not by as much as mobile operators really want (here); it remains to be seen whether the government might encourage the regulator to opt for a more radical change.
The reality is that mobile operators probably won’t get everything on their wish list. But it currently remains unclear whether they’ll get anything substantive at all. This is despite the importance many of us place on our ability to access a good quality mobile and data service.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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I can’t understand a few things — are mobile operators in the UK nonprofit organizations? When they applied for ALF and received it, weren’t they simultaneously obliged to provide coverage for the entire country? For example, I would like to be exempt from tax or get a subsidy for installing solar panels along with an energy storage system, because if I don’t get it, I will no longer be competitive.
There are two undeniable facts. One, cellular networks provide an essential amenity to everyone, literally everyone. And two, it was the government that ordered them to phase out Huawei equipment. A decision I fully support, make no mistake.
EE launched one of the first 5G networks in Europe and yet London has been recently proven as Europe’s capital with the worst 5G connectivity. Is that what you call five years of progress? I’m not saying that the government’s decision to outlaw Huawei in core infrastructure is the sole cause here but they should own up and admit it was and still remains a significantly contributing factor.
As this administration has demonstrated, it’s unlikely they will give up on those tax receipts, especially as mobile operators seem to be making decent profits, personally I don’t see why they should benefit twice, making a profit from customers, then getting a tax break that ultimately I as a tax payer has to fund in higher taxes.
It is the responsibility of the government and regulators to fund all non-commercial activities imposed on the businesses. An alternative approach is to penalise the businesses if they do not comply with a government’s political agenda. However, this was shown to fail and resulted in elevated prices for consumers after Brown’s interventions. If it were not for government interventions, then the providers would have remained focused on enhancing services in the urban areas where the demand exists, rather than in rural communities where there is insufficient demand.
Would more 5g availability and capacity really help industry and the economy? How, Where is 4g or worse holding it back?
My mobile capable work devices are limited not by the speed of the connection, but by both the ability to get a usable signal at all and by the employers VPN which has a 20Mbit Limit that comes out more like 18Mbit. They probably could get a VPN with a faster throughput, but there isnt really a need. Because were not shifting tons of data, the most we probably use is the occasional teams video call that could equally be a non-video call.
On a personal level, I’ve just changed mobile provider because my previous operator lost a tower site and has been unable to find a new site. They’ve onboarded loads of virtual customers which combined has meant their other nearby sites are overloaded and the signal while present often isnt usable for data or voice. The issue here is that they (say) they cant find a new site, not that the tax burden is too high for them to be able to afford it.
All the while I am paying £28pcm for a decent smart phone and 250GB of data, which is about the same as I was paying for a much less flash phone and WAP data about 20 years ago…. But that said Telcos dont seem to be short of moneyu.
This just smacks of Telcos wanting to pay less tax
5G includes a number of service profiles that will support new business opportunities. There are plenty of background materials available if you have any doubts.
@ Faralight – Are those ‘background materials’ written by those who will benefit from the rollout of 5G?
The world has changed, wake up.
@Denny pearson: Try reading the materials that are available.
@ Fara light – The answer you were looking for was = YES
I read impartial/ unbiased material – you should try it.
@Denny Pearson: I suggest you are just re-posting the same fake narrative that has appeared elsewhere.
After the ICNIRP declaration debacle the Government won’t help our industry. The public are more than happy with 4G why would the Government subsidise 5G? The overhype was just silly.
I do not understand why this narrative gets any airtime.
What debacle?
More fake narrative.
The political landscape has completely changed, lobbying the goverment without public support is now completely pointless.
Effort should be spend convincing the public that they want / need 5G.
The ridiculous early hype doesnt match the dull reality of 5G.
… this has no connection with reality.
I would like to see the evidence of expected 5x return.
Rollout of SA 5G in Dubai has been excellent, flat land and plenty of space.
It has made little or no difference to life or business. It’s only super fast when you are static and even then considerably slower than broadband – what am I missing?
None of those claims regarding the benefits of 5G are true.
These companies make millions if not billions of pounds a year and yet want tax breaks. why should they, at the end of the day they are there to make a profit, what ever they do is about profit, they are certainly not enabling 5G for us.
I am already paying for 5G which I don’t use in my sim only package.
The government should be funding the expansion if it set any targets for the roll-out. Otherwise, it is entirely a commercial matter, in which case the expansion should indeed be funded by the respective businesses.