Countryside set for 100ft masts in 5G revolution
PHONE masts as high as 100ft could be built to tackle countryside mobile signal blind spots.
Government plans to boost 4G and 5G coverage in rural areas will allow companies to erect masts of up to 98ft in height in most areas and up to 82ft in protected areas.
Telecoms firms could build masts up to 16ft taller and 6ft wider than currently permitted under the new proposals.
Because the larger structures would be able to carry more equipment, networks could share the masts, which would potentially reduce the number that need to be built, ministers believe.
Culture and Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said the proposals would ‘propel villages and towns out of the digital
‘Negative effect on their lives’
dark ages ... while making sure we protect our precious landscape’.
He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We’ve all been there: out on a long walk or holidaying in the countryside, you find yourself fruitlessly holding your phone in the air, trying to get a signal. For visitors, that’s merely an inconvenience.
‘But for the people trying to live, work and bring up a family in those areas, it has a negative effect on almost every part of their lives. If we truly want to level up the country, we cannot allow rural communities to become second- class citizens in the digital economy.’
Tom Fyans, campaigns and policy director at CPRE, the countryside charity, welcomed the move to increase reception but called on the Government to help improve the masts. ‘Too many have been poorly designed,’ he said. ‘We absolutely need to see better connectivity in the countryside, but in future equipment needs to be better designed and share existing masts and mast sites.’
Last year the Government announced a £1billion deal with the four mobile providers for a shared network of new and existing phone masts in places with poor signal, so-called not-spots.
Research published last month found 40 per cent of people living in the countryside saw their calls cut out due to poor reception.
The Government launched an eight-week consultation on the proposals yesterday.
The plans would also allow firms to upgrade masts for 5G without prior approval. It is hoped existing masts will be improved on, reducing the need for new structures.
Estimates suggest an extra 400,000 masts could be required to deliver 5G, which is expected to be crucial for initiatives including driverless cars that require much faster internet speeds.