Ahead of completing a mobile market review and publishing a new SSP for Ofcom, the Government has unveiled its ambitions for the telecoms sector over the next decade
The UK Government’s infrastructure plans have recognised the importance of high-quality telecoms networks
In June 2025, the UK Government announced two new infrastructure initiatives that aim to transform the economy, utilising improved connectivity as the backbone of wider economic success. Firstly, on 19 June, the Government published its 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, which (among other things) encourages a relaxing of planning rules to facilitate deployments of fibre and 5G networks. Secondly, on 26 June, the Government announced Project Reach, a public-private partnership involving Network Rail, Neos Networks and Freshwave that will eliminate mobile black spots in tunnels on key rail routes between London, Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff.
Planning reforms and legacy network switch-offs are two of the Government’s key priorities for the next 10 years
The Infrastructure Strategy is clear that digital connectivity is a crucial building block of growth across the economy and sets out its plans to support the sector’s development. The Government has three key aims for infrastructure investment, planning and reform:
Bringing forward a more flexible permitting system for street access and easing the process of fibre deployment in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) such as blocks of flats;
Implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act 2022 as soon as possible; and
Ensuring that communication from Ofcom and operators on legacy network switch-offs is effective in protecting consumers and informing businesses and critical national infrastructure (CNI) of when they need to upgrade to new technologies via a new connectivity timeline.
The strategy also discusses the need for the UK’s regulatory regime to promote innovation as well as the use of alternative technologies – such as satellite and fixed wireless access (FWA) – in areas that may be too difficult or costly to reach with fibre.
Ahead of a new mobile market review, the Government is focused on increasing the rollout of 5GSA and improving coverage reporting
The Infrastructure Strategy also establishes the Government's plans and expectations for mobile networks. It firstly discusses the need for improved mobile coverage and references Ofcom’s new coverage checker as an important step towards this. The Government restates the target outlined in the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy (WIS) for operators to deploy standalone 5G (5GSA) in all populated areas of the UK by 2030, praising how the technology can enable a range of new industrial applications in manufacturing, broadcasting, public services, transport and logistics. The strategy explains that 5G adoption could result in up to £37bn of gross value added (GVA) for the economy between 2022 and 2035. The Government also states that it will deliver “shortly” an updated statement of strategic priorities (SSP) for Ofcom’s regulation of the telecoms sector and that it is working on a new mobile market review for publication by the end of 2025, which will have a particular focus on the industry’s development following the Three/Vodafone merger.
Project Reach signals the start of a promising initiative to address long-standing issues with connectivity on trains
Meanwhile, Project Reach will look to bring an end to poor connectivity on railways, a long-running challenge that this Government has been clear it wants to solve. The deal is expected to save UK taxpayers an estimated £300m as a result of the private sector’s investments in new infrastructure, rather than that coming from the publicly owned, Network Rail. Although the first part of this project will only focus on deploying ultrafast fibre along 1,000km of the East Coast Main Line, parts of the West Coast Main Line and the Great Western Main Line, the project’s ambition is to deploy a further 5,000km of cables across the network in the near future. Deployment is expected to begin in 2026 but will be completed in 2028 given that fibre rollouts along the rail network can only be carried out when trains are not running. As a part of the project, mobile operators have also committed to investing in new 4G/5G infrastructure at 12 of the UK’s busiest stations.
