Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with Mobile UK on the official coverage data published by Ofcom; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the Shared Rural Network includes (a) north Gloucestershire and (b) Gotherington.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
My officials recently met Mobile UK to discuss a range of issues affecting the mobile industry currently, in their role as the trade association for the UK’s mobile network operators. This included Ofcom’s coverage reporting, and what we can do to work together to address areas of limited or no coverage.
Across Tewkesbury, outdoor 4G coverage from all four operators has increased to 95% up from 87%, since the Shared Rural Network programme begun in March 2020. These improvements were delivered via the industry-led element of the SRN which has now completed. There will not be any further coverage improvements in Tewkesbury from the programme.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve mobile phone coverage in North Gloucestershire.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom reports that 4G is available across 95% of the Tewkesbury constituency from all four mobile operators, while 5G (standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 99% of premises in his constituency from at least one operator.
I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome the improvements to their online mobile coverage checker which will go live in the second half of June.
Our ambition is for all populated areas, including North Gloucestershire, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. We continue to work closely with the mobile operators and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure schools in rural areas have access to full fibre broadband.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises, including schools, that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.
Alongside connecting premises through a series of Project Gigabit contracts across the UK, we are currently delivering a specific project in partnership with the Department for Education which is set to give a further 780 schools access to a fast, reliable broadband connection.
Earlier government-funded programmes have already delivered gigabit-capable connections to over 2,400 schools.