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Ministers are to scale back a £1bn project to tackle mobile signal “not-spots” in rural areas in an effort to slash costs.
Officials are in discussions with Britain’s mobile network operators over the second phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN), which is slated to use £500m of public funding to improve patchy coverage in the most remote parts of the country.
However, it is understood that officials are planning to water down this part of the programme, reducing the number of new mobile masts to be built from 260 to just 60.
It is not clear how much money such cuts would save, nor what impact they would have on coverage. Industry sources said it was possible to reduce the number of masts with minimal impact after operators exceeded targets for the first stage of the programme.
But the move risks sparking a row with mobile companies, which have been lobbying for the funding to be diverted to improve coverage on the UK’s railways. They argue that public money would be better spent targeting areas where improved signal is most needed.
Mobile bosses now fear that ministers are simply looking to cut costs and the money will not be reinvested. Any decision by ministers to pocket the savings would anger the networks, who feel they are being let down by the Government after fulfilling their side of the deal.
The SRN was launched in 2020 to provide taxpayer subsidies to help mobile companies build masts in isolated areas that would otherwise not be commercially viable.
The UK’s four major networks – EE, Vodafone, Virgin Media O2 and Three – last year completed the first stage of the project, targeting areas where there was coverage from at least one but not all operators.
The second stage is aimed at eliminating so-called total not-spots, where there is no coverage from any operator.
Networks have already met the initial target of reaching 95pc of the UK’s landmass by the end of this year, with further improvements planned until early 2027.
Politicians are keen to improve Britain’s mobile networks, arguing that poor coverage harms consumers and damages productivity. They have warned of a deepening digital divide, especially as more crucial services such as banking move online.
But the infrastructure upgrade has been met with opposition from a number of heritage groups, including the Scottish National Trust, which have complained about the construction of unsightly masts in scenic areas.
Building Digital UK (BDUK), the administrative body overseeing mobile and broadband coverage, is still consulting network operators on the plans.