Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the merger of Vodafone and Three on the rollout of 5G services in (a) Devon and (b) Newton Abbot constituency.

The Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. As a result of the merger, VodafoneThree has committed to investing £11 billion in its joint network. They state this will lead to 99% UK population coverage by 2030.

The aim of the merger commitments, imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority with input from Ofcom, is to stimulate competition and investment across the sector. Compliance with the merger commitments will be monitored by Ofcom, through regular reporting.

The Government regularly engages with the MNOs, including VodafoneThree, to understand their investment plans and all three have publicly committed significant investment that aligns with our standalone 5G ambition. However, specific rollout plans are commercial decisions, and the Government does not hold details on where network operators plan to rollout their infrastructure geographically.

The Government is also undertaking a Mobile Market Review to assess what further action we can take to support the sector to invest in comprehensive, high-quality connectivity over the long-term. We expect to set out next steps later this year.