Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invest in (1) 4G, and (2) 5G, infrastructure over the next four years; what reception improvements are expected as a result of such investment; and when they estimate reception will improve.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.
The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.
Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.
While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.
The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.
We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.
While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reliability of 4G in the UK compared to EU countries.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.
The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.
Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.
While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.
The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.
We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.
While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparison they have made of 4G signal strength and reliability between rural areas in (1) England, and (2) France.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The Government announced on 9 March that it had agreed a deal with the mobile network operators to deliver the Shared Rural Network programme. This will see Government and industry jointly invest to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by end-2025. Coverage is based on Ofcom’s definition of good quality 4G coverage, which is the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 90-second telephone call and a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s, 95% of the time.
The Shared Rural Network is underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments from each operator to have reached at least 90%, which will be assessed in 2026. Ofcom will regularly report on coverage improvements towards this goal through its Connected Nations report.
Exact site deployment plans will be managed by the operators themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage outcomes. However, we expect that consumers will feel the benefit of the programme long before its conclusion and the operators will consult with communities as roll out plans become clearer.
While the biggest improvements in coverage arising from the Shared Rural Network will be in Scotland and Wales, there will be improvements across all four nations. 4G geographic coverage in England is currently 97% from at least one operator and 81% from all four operators. As a result of the programme, this will increase to 98% coverage from at least one operator, and 90% from all four by end-2025.
The Shared Rural Network will help close the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving mobile coverage in largely rural areas across the whole of the UK. The programme is not directly aimed at improving coverage in dense inner-city areas such as the West End of London which, typically, have good 4G coverage from all four operators, and it will remain a commercial decision for operators to decide whether to improve coverage in such areas.
We are aware of the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index report 2019, which compares 4G coverage of homes across Member States. The report, available via the following link, https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi suggests that in 2018, based on an average of operator coverage, there was 98% 4G coverage of UK homes. This compared to 95% for France, and an EU average of 94%. The Shared Rural Network will help to improve our European standing by providing additional coverage to 280,000 premises.
While the vast majority of commercial rollout of 5G services will be delivered by industry and according to their own timeframes, government is committed to being a world leader in 5G technology and providing a 5G signal to a majority of the population by 2027. The Government is investing in a nationally coordinated programme of 5G testbed facilities and application trials to help achieve this, and has allocated £200 million from the National Productivity Investment Fund to the 5G Programme, which launched in 2017 and will run until March 2022.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of social investment vehicles in helping deprived communities.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social investment funds are independently regulated, and subject to their own respective due diligence processes, target market and risk and return objectives. Any losses are assessed and accounted for within their own governance, reporting and risk management processes. The government has made no independent assessment of the number of competing funds and the gains/losses made.
Big Society Capital operates independently from government and sets what it considers to be an appropriate interest rate.
Government has not been made aware of any evidence of mis selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Individual social investment vehicles measure and publish their own impact assessments based on the specific geography and nature of investments made.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is any evidence of social investment vehicles mis-selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social investment funds are independently regulated, and subject to their own respective due diligence processes, target market and risk and return objectives. Any losses are assessed and accounted for within their own governance, reporting and risk management processes. The government has made no independent assessment of the number of competing funds and the gains/losses made.
Big Society Capital operates independently from government and sets what it considers to be an appropriate interest rate.
Government has not been made aware of any evidence of mis selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Individual social investment vehicles measure and publish their own impact assessments based on the specific geography and nature of investments made.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Big Society Capital charging 5.5 per cent interest to social investment intermediaries.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social investment funds are independently regulated, and subject to their own respective due diligence processes, target market and risk and return objectives. Any losses are assessed and accounted for within their own governance, reporting and risk management processes. The government has made no independent assessment of the number of competing funds and the gains/losses made.
Big Society Capital operates independently from government and sets what it considers to be an appropriate interest rate.
Government has not been made aware of any evidence of mis selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Individual social investment vehicles measure and publish their own impact assessments based on the specific geography and nature of investments made.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the loan losses social investment intermediaries have made in the last three years.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social investment funds are independently regulated, and subject to their own respective due diligence processes, target market and risk and return objectives. Any losses are assessed and accounted for within their own governance, reporting and risk management processes. The government has made no independent assessment of the number of competing funds and the gains/losses made.
Big Society Capital operates independently from government and sets what it considers to be an appropriate interest rate.
Government has not been made aware of any evidence of mis selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Individual social investment vehicles measure and publish their own impact assessments based on the specific geography and nature of investments made.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate, if any, they have made of the number of social investment vehicles which compete to lend to the same charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social investment funds are independently regulated, and subject to their own respective due diligence processes, target market and risk and return objectives. Any losses are assessed and accounted for within their own governance, reporting and risk management processes. The government has made no independent assessment of the number of competing funds and the gains/losses made.
Big Society Capital operates independently from government and sets what it considers to be an appropriate interest rate.
Government has not been made aware of any evidence of mis selling to charities and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Individual social investment vehicles measure and publish their own impact assessments based on the specific geography and nature of investments made.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any evidence of social investment funds vehicles encouraging small charities and social enterprises to take out high interest loans.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The government collects no systematic evidence of the different rates of interest offered by social and commercial lenders. Interest rates cannot be compared in isolation. Interest rates applied by all investors, including independent social investment funds, are calculated based on credit assessments and reflect the risk presented by the individual organisations seeking investment and the costs of providing finance.
We have received no complaints that recipients of social investment are being obligated to accept any investment offer they feel is not beneficial to them. Social investors in the financial and philanthropic sectors are regulated by the respective regulatory bodies to ensure compliance to standards.
Asked by: Lord Mawson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any evidence of social investment funds vehicles offering loans at higher interest rates than those offered by the commercial market.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The government collects no systematic evidence of the different rates of interest offered by social and commercial lenders. Interest rates cannot be compared in isolation. Interest rates applied by all investors, including independent social investment funds, are calculated based on credit assessments and reflect the risk presented by the individual organisations seeking investment and the costs of providing finance.
We have received no complaints that recipients of social investment are being obligated to accept any investment offer they feel is not beneficial to them. Social investors in the financial and philanthropic sectors are regulated by the respective regulatory bodies to ensure compliance to standards.