Responding to the Spring
Budget Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission,
said:
The government’s positive response to the commission’s
recommendations on mobile connectivity and 5G is welcome.
The commission’s central finding was that mobile connectivity
has become a necessity. It is great to see that the government
is ready to take an active role in ensuring services are
available wherever we live, work and travel, and that our
roads, railways and city centres are 5G ready.
However, in taking the commission’s work forward it is
important the strategy around digital connectivity is delivered
coherently. A clear roadmap is needed so that the spending on
fibre and connectivity pilots reflects the commission’s
conclusions and delivers tangible benefits to consumers and
businesses.
The commission looks forward to the government reporting back
on before the end of 2017, and to DCMS making headway in
establishing mobile connectivity fit for the future.
Background
In relation to the Digital Strategy, the
NIC’s Connected
Futures found that:
Part 1: The mobile revolution
The UK mobile market has transformed from a luxury in the 1980s
to an essential today. 93% of adults in the UK own a mobile
phone, smartphones have overtaken laptops as internet users’
device of choice, and there are more mobile devices than people.
Yet the UK’s networks are not complete. There are too many
digital deserts across the country and the availability of our 4G
network is worse than many countries including Albania, Panama
and Peru.
Part 2: Government as a digital champion
The market has driven enormous change – but now government must
take responsibility to secure our digital future, starting with
the creation of a strong digital champion backed by a dedicated
cabinet committee. Government must ensure we have the
infrastructure in place to deliver 5G across our major centres
and transport networks.
Major roads: Our motorways must have roadside networks fit for
the future. The infrastructure should be in place by 2025.
Key rail routes: The railway network must rapidly improve
connectivity. This will be best delivered in future by a
trackside network. Government should provide a plan by 2017, and
the infrastructure should be in place on main rail routes by
2025.
Towns and cities: Local Authorities and LEPs should work with
network providers to develop approaches that enable the
deployment of the tens of thousands of small wireless cells we
expect to need in our urban centres.
Part 3: Enabling the market to deliver what we need
Government and Ofcom must ensure basic outdoor mobile services
are available wherever we live, work and travel.
Regulation must keep pace with the rapid evolution of the mobile
communications markets, allowing innovative new firms to provide
services that the existing market has not delivered.
Greater connectivity is inevitable and essential. The UK cannot
be left behind.
The section of the Digital Strategy relating to the National
Infrastructure Commission can be found here. The key actions
of government’s response are set out below:
- the government will establish a new Digital Infrastructure
Officials Group, comprising senior officials from relevant
government departments, to be chaired by a new Telecoms Director
and reporting to the DCMS SoS
- the government is also establishing a new Centre of 5G
Expertise to ensure that 5G development activity across central
government, local government and other public sector bodies is
joined up and engage with industry to ensure a strategic approach
and the sharing of best practice
- the Department for Transport and DCMS will work with industry
to assess the potential for commercial provision of
telecommunications services on road and rail networks, and how
new and existing infrastructure can be used to support them, and
will report back by the end of 2017
- the government will take account of local connectivity plans
and evidence of taking a proactive approach when allocating funds
to local projects through the competitive process for both local
fibre and 5G trials programme funding
- the government welcomes the prospect of Ofcom developing
metrics that better reflect actual mobile network performance
outcomes for users, and will ask Ofcom to publish a plan for
achieving this by the end of 2017
- the government will set out by the end of 2017 what the
essential elements of high-quality coverage where people live,
work and travel are, and how we will achieve this is soon as
practical, but by no later than 2025
- the government will work with Ofcom to identify and tackle
unnecessary barriers to infrastructure sharing, and will report
on progress by the end of 2017
- the government will review by the end of 2017 the scope for
the spectrum licensing regime to facilitate better 5G deployment
at national, regional and local scales, including in-building
usage
