Thirty-Fifth Report - Supporting mobile connectivity

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 650 28 May 2024
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 34 items (7 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 33 of 34 classified)
Accepted 20
Acknowledged 8
Deferred 3
Not Addressed 2
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirty-fifth report from Session 2023-24 · published 11 Jul 2025
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Recommendations & Conclusions

34 results
2 Conclusion Accepted
Revisit cost benefit analysis for Shared Rural Network 4G investment to inform mast locations.
Conclusion
The Department has not identified the specific benefits it is aiming to achieve in the most remote areas of the UK to help guide decisions on where investment is most needed to improve connectivity. To secure good value from the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department will refresh its benefits model and cost-benefit analysis using new data, including a study on consumer willingness to pay for connectivity, and will gather benefits data from exercise apps and conduct qualitative research with stakeholders.
HM Treasury
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3 Conclusion Deferred
Confirm remaining 4G coverage gaps and develop plans for alternative connectivity in underserved areas.
Conclusion
The Department has not confirmed which specific areas are in the 5% of the UK landmass that will not have 4G connectivity, and it does not yet have a plan for ensuring that consumers and businesses in these areas get … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department cannot confirm which specific areas will remain without 4G connectivity yet, as site locations are not finalized before late 2025. Identification of remaining uncovered areas will be undertaken only upon completion of the site acquisition phase of the programme.
HM Treasury
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4 Conclusion Accepted
Ensure meaningful mobile coverage data reflects actual experience and develop real-time reporting mechanisms.
Conclusion
The mobile coverage reported by Ofcom does not always reflect the actual level of service that businesses and consumers experience, and which may sometimes be significantly worse than reported. The data that Ofcom publishes on mobile coverage across the UK … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department is working with Ofcom to obtain more granular signal data, experiment with crowd-sourced data, and consider appropriate signal thresholds. It will also ask Ofcom to examine cases of lost connectivity after 3G switch-off and report on standalone 5G coverage while reviewing 4G/5G definitions.
HM Treasury
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5 Conclusion Acknowledged
Ensure public reporting on 4G connectivity progress for roads and premises targets.
Conclusion
The Department lacks up to date information to track progress on whether the Shared Rural Network programme will meet its targets for increasing connectivity on roads and premises. In addition to the overall target to increase 4G coverage to 95% … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states BDUK is committed to working with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data continues to be published. BDUK is engaging with Ofcom to consider publishing more granular figures in upcoming statistical updates and exploring ways to track roads and premises coverage before Ofcom's 2027 assessment.
HM Treasury
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6 Conclusion Accepted
Develop plan for frequent collection and publication of UK rail network coverage data.
Conclusion
Progress in improving connectivity on UK railways has been hampered by a lack of up-to-date coverage data. Mobile connectivity along major rail routes remains poor and passengers can often struggle to make calls, stream videos or work online. Improving rail … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and has asked Ofcom to investigate using in-carriage scanners and crowdsourced data for rail connectivity. The Department for Transport has also commissioned a study using external scanners on engineering trains to establish baseline data by early 2025, with progress to be outlined in future Treasury Minute updates.
HM Treasury
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7 Recommendation Acknowledged
Set out 5G investment achievements and establish meaningful targets for standalone 5G rollout.
Recommendation
The Department’s plans for supporting investment in 5G infrastructure are undeveloped and it has not articulated what it has achieved from taxpayers’ 8 Supporting mobile connectivity investment to date. Since 2017, the Department has committed over £500 million to determine … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees but states it has set an "ambition" for 5G coverage, not a specific target, and monitors this via Ofcom's reports. It notes previous 5G Testbeds and Trials programme outcomes were evaluated in 2023 and commits to providing evaluations of current programmes (Open Networks Programme and 5G Innovation Regions) upon their conclusion in 2025.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Accepted
Committee took evidence on progress delivering UK-wide reliable mobile connectivity.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (the Department) and Building Digital UK (BDUK), an agency of the Department, on progress in delivering UK-wide … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's introductory conclusion and provides a general update on the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, stating that the overarching 95% coverage target is expected to be met ahead of schedule and within budget, with financial risk managed through existing grant agreements.
HM Treasury
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8 Conclusion
Mobile operators anticipate missing 2024 4G coverage targets, seeking extension from Ofcom.
Conclusion
We noted that, in late 2023, three of the four mobile network operators had already advised BDUK that they were each unlikely to meet their Ofcom licence obligation to increase their own 4G coverage to 88% of the UK landmass … Read more
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Accepted
Shared Rural Network programme faces significant cost challenges, exceeding government funding levels.
Conclusion
Both the Department and BDUK acknowledged that there have been significant cost challenges on the programme.15 On the Extended Area Service element of the programme, 7 C&AG’s Report, paras 7, 2.5 and 2.6 8 C&AG’s Report, paras 3 and 15; … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that the 95% coverage target is on track to be met within budget, highlighting that the SRN grant structure caps government financial contribution for Total Not Spots, and BDUK is working to achieve maximum benefit within existing Extended Area Service funding.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Accepted
Department explores options to absorb rising costs, potentially reducing number of masts.
Conclusion
To absorb these additional costs, the Department is considering its options. These include delivering the required increase in 4G coverage but with fewer masts.17 For example, BDUK estimates that only about 170 of the original 292 Extended Area Service masts … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government confirms the 95% coverage target is expected to be met within budget, citing the SRN's capped grant fund for Total Not Spots that limits government contribution and requires MNOs to cover additional costs, while BDUK works to maximize benefit within Extended Area Service funding.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Accepted
Ofcom granting cost relief to operators could jeopardise the 95% 4G coverage target.
Conclusion
BDUK said that the mobile network operators will pick up any additional costs they incur in delivering the programme as they are required to deliver the coverage obligations in their licences from Ofcom. However, the licences also allow the operators … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that the 95% coverage target is on track to be met ahead of schedule and within budget, emphasising that the Shared Rural Network's grant agreement structure caps government financial contributions, thereby transferring delivery risk to MNOs.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Not Addressed
BDUK lacked adequate cost information from operators for managing government-funded programme spending.
Conclusion
BDUK told us that costs had been one of three areas where it had wanted improved information from the operators. Although it had previously received information from DMSL on costs, the information DMSL had provided had not allowed BDUK to … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states the 95% coverage target is expected to be met ahead of schedule and within budget, with the Shared Rural Network's capped grant fund ensuring the government's financial contribution for Total Not Spots does not exceed £300.7 million. The response focuses on general financial risk management and current progress rather than BDUK's specific amendment for cost information mentioned in the conclusion.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Accepted
Business case lacked specific evidence on benefits of extending mobile coverage to remote areas.
Conclusion
The Department’s business case for the programme as a whole identified a range of benefits, such as supporting tourism and business productivity in rural areas. It estimated that the programme would result in quantifiable benefits of £1,352 million. However, the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government committed to refreshing its benefits model and cost-benefit analysis using new data, undertaking a study on consumer willingness to pay, gathering innovative benefits data from sources like exercise apps, and conducting further qualitative research to increase the evidence base on benefits in remote areas.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Accepted
Business case unable to disaggregate cost-benefit analysis for masts in very rural areas.
Conclusion
A number of stakeholders from Scotland, in areas which were particularly remote, have raised concerns about the programme’s impact on the environment and questioned whether the benefits justified the investment of taxpayers’ money.24 We therefore asked if the Department had … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to refreshing its benefits model and cost-benefit analysis by December 2024, including a new study on consumer willingness to pay and qualitative research, with findings to inform a Spending Review bid.
HM Treasury
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15 Recommendation Accepted
Planning process and site-by-site analysis now identifying specific benefits of individual mast locations.
Recommendation
BDUK added that subsequent decisions about where masts should be located is allowing for greater specificity in identifying the programme’s benefits. For example, when seeking planning permission, DMSL must submit business plans for each cluster of masts and these should … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to refreshing its benefits model and cost-benefit analysis by December 2024, using new data, conducting a consumer value study, gathering innovative benefits data, and undertaking further qualitative research to assess the programme's benefits.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Deferred
Remaining 5% without 4G coverage are unpopulated areas with limited benefit for infrastructure.
Conclusion
We were concerned about the people in the 5% of the UK landmass that would have no 4G coverage after December 2025, and whether these communities would lose out forever. The Department assured us that the 5% consisted of the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it's not yet possible to predict exact areas without 4G but will undertake identification of remaining uncovered areas upon completion of the site acquisition phase. It reiterates that few people are expected to be affected.
HM Treasury
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17 Recommendation Deferred
Department lacks exact knowledge of specific geographical areas without 4G coverage post-programme.
Recommendation
The Department’s business case for the Shared Rural Network programme did not confirm which specific geographical areas would benefit from better coverage as a result of the programme and which would not.29 We therefore asked if the Department now knew … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees but states that identifying specific unserved areas is not possible yet as site locations are not finalised; identification will be undertaken upon completion of the site acquisition phase, with a target date of January 2027.
HM Treasury
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18 Conclusion Accepted
Satellite technology shows promise for future cost-effective 4G coverage in remote areas.
Conclusion
We asked the Department about the scope for using alternative technologies, such as low earth orbit satellites in place of masts, to provide mobile coverage in those areas which would still have no 4G coverage after the completion of the … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the conclusion but primarily reiterates that the Shared Rural Network is technology-neutral, allowing partners to choose the best technologies, including satellite if it meets minimum speed requirements, without committing to specific new actions regarding satellite trials or deployment.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Accepted
Reported mobile coverage often overstates real-world user experience, particularly in rural areas.
Conclusion
Ofcom is responsible for collecting and publishing data on mobile coverage. Ofcom’s coverage data are based on modelled estimates provided by the mobile network operators. Ofcom checks the modelled data by conducting sample tests using antennas attached to some of … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom by January 2025 to improve mobile coverage reporting by obtaining more granular signal strength data from MNOs and experimenting with crowdsourced data to better align reported coverage with real-life experience.
HM Treasury
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20 Recommendation Accepted
Indoor mobile coverage data is crucial, especially as 3G networks are switched off.
Recommendation
For the Shared Rural Network programme, the Department reports progress on improving outdoor coverage and not indoor coverage. The Department confirmed that it collects data on indoor coverage. Understanding whether people can get a mobile signal indoors is important because, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom to improve mobile coverage reporting, including exploring additional data sources and consumer reporting mechanisms, and will ask Ofcom to examine cases where 3G switch-off leads to loss of connectivity and to report on standalone 5G coverage.
HM Treasury
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21 Conclusion Accepted
Current coverage data is insufficient to identify very local 4G gaps and infrastructure adjustments.
Conclusion
The Department told us that local gaps in 4G coverage may not be due to the lack of a mast, but due to the nature of the equipment on that mast; for example, the antennas may not be angled correctly … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom by January 2025 to obtain more granular signal strength and quality data from MNOs, and to experiment with crowdsourced data to better understand local 4G coverage gaps.
HM Treasury
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22 Recommendation Accepted
Ofcom is set to publish improved local coverage data, but public reporting is needed.
Recommendation
As part of the wireless infrastructure strategy, the Department asked Ofcom to improve its understanding of local coverage gaps. In 2023, Ofcom started using crowdsourced data to better measure the speed of connection that people experience at a local level. … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom by January 2025 to explore methods for consumers to report coverage gaps and to incorporate third-party data to improve mobile coverage reporting.
HM Treasury
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23 Conclusion Accepted
Ofcom will not assess Shared Rural Network 4G coverage targets until 2027.
Conclusion
As part of its Shared Rural Network programme, the Department aims to extend 4G coverage to 280,000 additional premises and an additional 16,000 kilometres of UK roads by December 2025.42 Many of the expected benefits of the programme come from … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states BDUK is engaging with Ofcom and MNOs to establish ways to track roads and premises coverage ahead of the official licence obligation assessment in January 2027, with a target implementation date of January 2025.
HM Treasury
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24 Recommendation Acknowledged
Department lacks visibility on Shared Rural Network progress due to commercially sensitive operator data.
Recommendation
We asked the Department how it will know whether it has achieved its premises and roads targets and whether there was a risk of getting to the end of 2025 without being able to assess progress.45 The Department told us … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to working with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data, including for roads and premises, is published and expanded, and will engage to consider tracking methods by January 2027, with a target implementation date of January 2025.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
Unverified road and premises coverage data makes programme impact difficult to determine.
Conclusion
The Department told us that it does have some numbers on the increased coverage of roads and premises, but that they are unverified and it is not confident in them.48 The Department estimates that, since the start of the programme, … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states it will work with Ofcom and MNOs to ensure mobile coverage data, including for roads and premises, continues to be published and expanded, and will engage with Ofcom to consider publishing more granular figures and tracking methods by January 2027.
HM Treasury
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26 Conclusion Accepted
Department is confident of meeting 2025 targets despite needing better impact understanding.
Conclusion
The Department recognised that it needs to do more work to understand its impact on road coverage, and told us it is working with Ofcom and with the mobile network operators to improve the information available.50 Nevertheless, the Department told … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states BDUK is committed to working with Ofcom and mobile network operators to ensure mobile coverage data continues to be published and expanded, and is engaging to consider publishing decimal point coverage figures and better tracking roads and premises coverage ahead of the 2027 license obligation assessment.
HM Treasury
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27 Conclusion Acknowledged
Poor mobile connectivity on railways is due to high costs and weak commercial case.
Conclusion
Connectivity along major rail routes remains poor. Passengers can struggle to make calls, stream videos or work online. The Department told us that improving connectivity on railways is challenging. It explained that it is hard for the signal to penetrate … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the conclusion about poor rail connectivity and associated challenges, outlining plans with Ofcom to report on rail coverage and a DfT study to establish baseline data by early 2025.
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28 Conclusion Accepted
Lack of detailed railway mobile coverage data hinders understanding of challenges
Conclusion
The Department told us that it lacks sufficiently detailed data of coverage across the railways. To understand the coverage challenges along different stretches of track, it needs data for each metre. In 2020, the National Infrastructure Commission recommended that Ofcom … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states it has asked Ofcom to report on rail coverage and investigate new data methods, while the Department for Transport has commissioned a study using scanners on engineering trains to establish baseline data by early 2025.
HM Treasury
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29 Conclusion Accepted
Network Rail's Project Reach to improve railway connectivity experiencing significant delays
Conclusion
The Department told us that Network Rail, and in turn therefore the Department for Transport and its accounting officer, are responsible for the business case for improving connectivity on the railways. Owing to the infrastructure required, the case for improving … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department has asked Ofcom to report on mobile coverage on the rail network in its annual report and the DfT commissioned a study using scanners to measure mobile signal strength. The department will outline progress in future updates.
HM Treasury
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30 Conclusion Accepted
Government's wireless strategy highlights substantial economic benefits from standalone 5G adoption
Conclusion
Government’s plans for investing in future mobile connectivity are set out in its 2023 wireless infrastructure strategy. 5G is the latest generation of wireless technology. Non-standalone 5G, which makes use of existing 4G infrastructure, can be faster than 4G, while … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government reiterates its commercially-led strategy for standalone 5G deployment, without subsidy, and describes existing and ongoing programmes like the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, 5G Testbeds and Trials, Open Networks, and 5G Innovation Regions, with future evaluations planned for 2025.
HM Treasury
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31 Conclusion Not Addressed
Department needs to better integrate and disseminate its extensive 5G research findings
Conclusion
Since 2017, the Department has spent £400 million in developing possible uses for 5G because it is not yet obvious that consumers will need 5G and the commercial case is not yet clear enough to support industry’s investment.59 The Department’s … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government's response, which is identical to another item, fails to address the specific point about drawing together research findings, instead discussing its 5G ambition and general program evaluations.
HM Treasury
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32 Conclusion Acknowledged
Concerns over significant government 5G investment where commercial solutions might suffice
Conclusion
While we could see the logic of demonstrating the benefits of 5G, the sums involved have been large, and we were concerned that commercial operators could have worked out themselves what benefits they could get from standalone 5G without government … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government highlights that standalone 5G deployment is commercially funded, while referencing existing initiatives such as the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy and monitoring progress via Ofcom data. It mentions past 5G Testbeds and Trials and ongoing Open Networks and 5G Innovation Regions, with an evaluation due in 2025.
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33 Recommendation Acknowledged
Department reluctant to directly fund 5G infrastructure, prioritizing commercially-led rollout approach
Recommendation
The mobile service company Ericsson wrote to us about the UK National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) Second National Infrastructure Assessment which stated that the government should prepare to act fast to support 5G deployment in areas where the market is unwilling … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government reaffirms its commercially-led approach to 5G deployment without subsidy, stating it monitors progress, implements demand/supply interventions, and continues to work with industry to understand future intervention needs. It highlights ongoing programmes like Open Networks and 5G Innovation Regions.
HM Treasury
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34 Conclusion Acknowledged
Department's 2030 standalone 5G ambition lacks clear definitions, funding, and concrete targets
Conclusion
The Department has stated that it wants to see standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030.66 Although non-standalone 5G is more widely available, the Department thinks it unlikely to meet the UK’s future connectivity needs. The Department has yet … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the committee's observation, reiterating that standalone 5G deployment is an ambition, not a target due to commercial funding, and states it monitors progress via Ofcom's reports and will evaluate ongoing programs by 2025.
HM Treasury
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