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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the level of coverage provided by 5G-ready infrastructure.

We are committed to providing the world-class digital infrastructure the UK needs to compete and grow in the modern economy. The Government wants the UK to be a world leader in 5G and to ensure that the majority of the population have access to a 5G signal by 2027.

As 5G is still in its developmental stage it has yet to be rolled out. However, definitive standards are due to be agreed in 2019 and incremental deployment is expected over the following decade.

In the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, the Government set out that it expects 5G to be rolled out in phases around the country, and for Mobile Network Operators to deploy 5G equipment first on existing sites.