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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what analysis his Department has undertaken of the relative benefits to the economy of access to (a) 2G, (b) 3G and (c) 4G mobile coverage.

No such specific analysis has been done but the Government commissioned research by RAND to assess the value of the provision of mobile coverage in not-spot areas. It noted that there were perceived economic benefits associated with mobile coverage and the value of this varied with the size of business in question. The findings can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/412201/Mobile_network_not_spots_final_report.pdf

Ofcom’s 2014 Infrastructure Report also noted that mobile communication is vital to businesses and that 79% of small and medium-sized enterprises now use mobile phones.

Improving mobile coverage is a priority for the Government it secured a landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017. As a result of this legally binding obligation we also expect data coverage to improve. Furthermore, Telefonica has a licence obligation to deliver indoor 4G coverage to 98% of premises in the UK by 2017. Other MNOs have indicated that they will match this commitment. Taken together these obligations will be significantly improve coverage in the UK to benefit businesses and the digital economy.