Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to establish a clear and consistent definition of good quality mobile connectivity, beyond coverage alone.

The draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for Telecommunications, the Management of Radio Spectrum, and Postal Services sets out a priority for Ofcom to keep under review its definitions of what constitutes “good” 4G and 5G and the signal strength thresholds it uses to measure this, so that these definitions continue to reflect consumer and business expectations as user requirements and behaviours evolve.

In parallel, the Government is undertaking a Mobile Market Review to assess the impact of technological, structural and financial market developments on investment in comprehensive high-quality mobile connectivity.

As part of the call for evidence to inform the review, we are asking for detailed evidence on how the Government should think about, and define, ‘good’ mobile coverage in relation to the quality of service provided to consumers, businesses and the public sector and what steps could Government take to ensure operators are able to provide this. We will use these responses to further inform policy on this issue. The call for evidence was published on 10 February 2026 and closes 5 May 2026.