Ramblers, hill climbers, and wildlife watchers in dozens of UK
tourist hotspots will enjoy faster, more reliable mobile coverage
to explore the Great British countryside this bank holiday.
Four masts providing 4G coverage in some of Britain's most
visited national parks have now been switched on following UK
Government funding, improving safety for tourists and local
residents, and reducing the number of signal losses in these
remote areas.
The key locations targeted by the programme include areas of
outstanding natural beauty across England and Wales, such as
Snowdonia, the Shropshire Hills, the Wye Valley, and the Brecon
Beacons, which are benefitting from improved connectivity without
new infrastructure being installed. It will mean residents and
visitors who previously struggled to fulfil basic tasks on their
mobiles, such as finding routes via online maps, uploading
pictures on social media, and using messaging platforms to text
and make calls, will no longer face frustrating mobile dropouts.
The boost comes as the UK Government seeks to fix the digital
divide to ensure Britons up and down the country can have the
same opportunities and are not held back by lack of connectivity.
Minister of State for Telecoms said:
We want everyone to be able to enjoy the breath-taking views of
our mountains, parks, and lakes and this connectivity boost
without any impact on scenery will give visitors the peace of
mind to be able to call a friend should they get lost, or find
their way to enjoy a much-needed lunch break in a local pub.
The upgrade is also set to reduce the risks of tourists needing
emergency assistance, easing pressures on the emergency services
who normally receive higher number of calls during bank holidays.
Where people do find themselves at risk, the masts will give
first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and
information - making it quicker and easier for them to rescue
anyone in danger.
Mike Park, Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Rescue
England and Wales said:
Teams across the country are seeing a year-on-year increased
demand for our unpaid, voluntary services. This announcement
means that we are being given the best chance to be alerted when
people require our life-saving services.
Thirty years ago, when mobile phones and network coverage were in
their infancy, it was typical that simply getting off the
mountain to a telephone to alert Mountain Rescue could add more
than 2 hours before a rescue could be initiated. Because of the
improvement in the mobile phone networks in these remote areas,
mountain rescue teams are now able to be alerted so much quicker,
which is a benefit to all of us – casualty and rescuer.
The boost is the latest milestone of the Shared Rural Network
programme, a £1 billion funding project geared towards improving
connectivity in rural areas of the country. This part of the
programme upgrades existing masts, rather than building new ones,
so that the impact on the surrounding environment is kept to a
minimum.
Beyond national parks, the upgrade will also benefit tourists
visiting historic landmarks, such as the UNESCO world heritage
site Blaenavon Industrial Landscape and the Norman-era Caldicot
Castle and Country Park in South Wales.
The Shared Rural Network has already led to an additional 14,800
square kilometres – an area roughly the size of Northern Ireland
or two million football pitches – receiving coverage from all
four operators.
The UK government is investing in upgrades to the Home Office's
Emergency Service Network mobile masts to provide coverage from
all four mobile operators – mostly in Scotland and Wales. To
date, 16 Extended Area Service (EAS) mast upgrades have been
switched on – including 13 in Wales, one in Scotland and two in
England.
Mobile operators are also investing over £500 million to target
partial ‘not spots', where customers can only access 4G if they
are signed up with a mobile network operator that is active in
the area. This part of the programme has already delivered
significant coverage improvements across the UK, including in the
areas of Shetland, Yorkshire, Fermanagh and Devon.
Bryn Jones, Director of SRN at Digital Mobile Spectrum
Limited which represents the four major mobile operators,
said:
With 16 publicly funded mobile sites now live, residents,
businesses and tourists across the UK are benefitting from the
sharing of existing infrastructure. The Shared Rural Network will
continue to deliver improved 4G coverage as more upgrades go
live.
