The UK government has intensified its efforts to improve mobile connectivity in rural areas, focusing on towns and villages across Wales through its Shared Rural Network (SRN) program. Recently, seven upgraded 4G masts in North, South West, and West Wales have gone live, providing reliable connectivity to local businesses and community organizations.
Many rural communities continue to experience slow download speeds and buffering due to outdated mobile networks, which hampers economic growth and exacerbates the digital divide between urban and rural regions. The SRN upgrades aim to address these issues, enhancing productivity for local businesses and opening up new opportunities.
Launched in 2020, the £1.3 billion SRN initiative is a collaboration between the UK’s four major mobile network operators—EE, Virgin Media O2, Three, and Vodafone—and the UK government, with the goal of extending 4G coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025. The program focuses on building or upgrading phone masts to eliminate rural connectivity gaps.
The operators have committed to improving 4G coverage, investing in a shared network overseen by Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, with a combined investment of £532 million supplemented by over £501 million in government funding. So far, 20 SRN upgrades have been completed in Wales, with more planned.
Additionally, in August 2024, the government partnered with Openreach to invest around £170 million to provide gigabit-capable connectivity to approximately 70,000 hard-to-reach premises across Wales, including remote areas.
The UK government is also investing £184 million to upgrade Extended Area Service (EAS) masts, which currently only provide commercial coverage through EE. Jo Stevens, the UK government's Welsh secretary, emphasized the importance of connectivity for daily life in rural Wales, noting its critical role in supporting businesses, tourism, and emergency services.