Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many agreements were reached to install 5G masts on private property in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those agreements were concluded consensually.

Digital connectivity is important now more than ever and the Government is committed to providing good quality digital infrastructure and mobile coverage, including 5G, across the UK. This will ensure that people are able to stay connected and businesses are able to grow. The Government’s ambition for the majority of the UK population to have access to 5G by 2027 was met 5 years early with basic “non-standalone” 5G. Non-standalone 5G is available outside up to 77% of UK premises.

However, Government policy in this area consistently aims to maintain a proportionate balance between the public benefits of digital rollout, and the rights of individual landowners. This is reflected in the legal framework underpinning rights to install and keep electronic communications apparatus on public and private land, contained in the Electronic Communications Code (“the Code”).

5G network rollout and the acquisition and management of masts, mobile sites and network infrastructure is, ultimately, a matter for the mobile network operators (MNOs), operating within that legal framework. The Government therefore does not routinely collate comprehensive data on site acquisitions.

However, you may find it useful to note that information provided by mobile operators and infrastructure providers during passage of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act showed that the number of agreements being concluded on new and existing sites has increased year on year since 2020. This data shows that in 2022, at least 107 agreements were reached in relation to new sites, with heads of terms agreed on a further 66 sites. That is in addition to the 533 renewal agreements which have concluded this year, along with heads of terms being agreed on a further 119 renewals.

To be clear however, this data does not represent a complete picture of the number of agreements agreed during 2022, but rather a snapshot provided by some mobile operators. We do not have any additional data breaking down these figures into agreements concerning the installation of 5G masts on private property, or how many agreements were completed consensually. However, as you may be aware, measures contained in the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act aim to encourage consensual negotiations.