Plan for masts to ‘improve mobile signals’

Proposed changes in the law which would allow telecoms firms to make phone masts taller and wider could wipe out mobile signal blind spots, the UK Government has said.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said proposals will also boost the rollout of 5G technology.

Under the plans, new and existing masts could be made 5m (16ft 5in) taller and 2m (6ft 7in) wider than current rules allow, enabling more equipment to be fitted to them as part of efforts to improve phone signals while reducing the need for new masts to be built in rural areas.

The government said stricter rules will apply in protected areas such as national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and world heritage sites, but will also include plans to allow building-based masts to be placed closer to main roads to improve signals for road users.

And while existing masts could be updated without prior approval, most new masts will still need to be approved by local authorities.

“We want to level up the country and end the plague of patchy and poor mobile signals in rural communities,” Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said.

“We are setting out plans to make it easier for mobile firms to transform connectivity in the countryside and propel villages and towns out of the digital dark ages.”