Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 14940, on Project Gigabit and Shared Rural Network, how Ofcom tests areas for compliance with their standard for good coverage.

Ofcom’s approach to testing compliance is available on Ofcom’s website. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/cellular-coverage/

It involves a combination of desk-based assessment against the mobile network operators (MNO) coverage predictions and drive testing in a sample of locations across the UK.

Ofcom uses scanners installed in vehicles to capture a range of information including mobile signal strength across the UK’s road network. This provides signal strength measurement samples for each MNO across different regions and terrains. This data is then used for comparison at an aggregated level with the coverage predictions the MNOs supply to Ofcom.