Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the timetable is for the (a) introduction of 5G and (b) the rollout of fibre broadband in Telford constituency.

The Government wants all areas of the UK, including Telford constituency, to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.

5G is already available in the Telford constituency. I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 5G is available from at least one operator outside 99% of all premises in the Telford constituency.

In the Telford constituency, over 99% of premises can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 87% have access to gigabit-capable broadband coverage (>1000 Mbps). There is high existing gigabit coverage and commercial plans in the area. Therefore, this constituency is not expected to see significant benefits from Project Gigabit.