Labour warned ‘grossly unfair’ prices on farmers putting 5G coverage target in doubt | UK | News

Labor has been warned it will miss its 5G target because farmers and other landowners are being offered “unfair” lower prices to host masts. A new report shared exclusively with the Express has revealed that the UK has fallen to the bottom of international league tables for mobile coverage and 5G rollout.

Although some industry sources dispute this, the Conservative Party’s reforms to the Electronic Communications Act (ECC) in 2017, which cut payments to masts hosting the masts, are blamed for this. The government is being pressured to U-turn plans to expand the approach to thousands more sites. The report says rents have fallen by up to 90 percent since the changes, triggering more than 1,000 legal disputes, and spread has slowed as many landowners have walked away.

Thomas Evans, of AP Wireless, which conducted the research, said the reforms had “backfired” and Labor needed to take action.

He said: “When landowners get a fair deal, sites stay open and networks expand rapidly.

“When the government tries to fix prices, it clogs up supply and hurts the people it is supposed to help: mobile users.

“Britain now risks missing the 2030 target for nationwide 5G, with businesses, communities and the wider economy paying the price. The new minister has the chance to fix a decade of failure and restart rollout.”

AP Wireless is a subsidiary of a large mobile phone mast site rental investment company.

The study, carried out by economic consultancy firm NERA, warned that the UK ranks last among major economies such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the US in terms of 5G coverage, download speeds and mast numbers.

He adds that some Londoners have had to revert to using 2G due to outages.

Ted Hobbs, a trustee of the Aberbargoed Rifle and Pistol Club in Caerphilly, said he was underbid by Vodafone to host a mast on its land by 50%.

He told the Express he had offered an annual payment of £1,750, below the £3,500 Vodafone had spent over the past 30 years.

Mr Hobbs, 75, described the offer as “deeply unfair”.

“It’s not fair, it’s unfair and we will not accept injustice,” he said, adding that the matter would be heard in a district court later this year.

Ministers plan to expand ECC reforms to a further 15,000 facilities; NERA’s report warns that this will only deepen the gaps and make things worse for mobile users.

Mr Hobbs said: “Doesn’t it look like a British Government is doing this? It looks more like communism.”

A VodafoneThree spokesperson said: “VodafoneThree has a plan to build a fully funded, regulated and stable network and will achieve 99.96% 5G Standalone population coverage by 2034.

“But we can only build this network as quickly as the legal and regulatory framework allows.

“Reforms to the ECC will enable us to agree terms with our landlords more quickly, reducing delays and thus bringing 5G coverage to communities across the UK faster.

“It is vital for us to deliver on the government’s national 5G ambition. These reforms were passed with the support of parties as part of the Product Safety and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act.”

Peter Moore, a farmer from Essex, said he had owned a pole for 20 years but when it came time to renovate he was left with thousands cut down and faced legal and agency costs.

“The law has completely changed the goalposts,” he said.

Pamela Robinson, a West Yorkshire farmer, also described the research: “I have been approached by telecoms companies to host masts, but the terms they offer are unfair.

“They expect us to sign 50- or even 99-year leases for very low sums that do not reflect the value of the land or the costs we incur. All we want is a fair and reliable income, not deals that lock us in and deprive us of proper control over our own property.”

Country Land and Business Association President Victoria Vyvyan told the Express: “This report confirms what we see every day: reducing pole rents for landowners will only backfire.

“Landowners don’t want to give up on these agreements, but they can’t hold on to agreements that no longer make sense.

“At a time when farms are under serious threat, they need to use the land for something that pays off.”

He added: “The government must pause, properly assess the impact of these changes and stick to a system that works for the countryside before Britain falls further behind.”

Ion Fletcher, Group Finance Policy Director at the British Property Federation, said: “What should be a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship between property owners and operators has become contentious and contentious.

“The government urgently needs to review its approach to mobile telecommunications to stop the UK falling further behind other countries.”

Mobile UK, the trade association for the UK’s mobile network operators, has advocated for the ECC reforms.

A spokesman said the changes played a “positive and important role” in improving the UK’s mobile networks.

They said: “The reforms have improved 33,000 sites to date and significantly improved the coverage and capacity of networks to meet growing customer demand for mobile data.

“Evidence shows that the reforms are working effectively, encouraging highly consensual agreements and helping to minimize the use of courts.”

A Government spokesman said: “We remain committed to higher quality 5G standalone coverage in all populated areas by 2030.

“We can only achieve this by delivering the infrastructure the country needs, removing planning barriers and supporting investment so everyone in Britain can benefit from next-generation connectivity.

“We have consulted to ensure that specific measures on renewal agreements work for landowners, operators and communities and will provide further updates in due course.”