Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring tower companies to (a) improve coverage and (b) re-invest in new sites.

Tower companies play a key role in the market; they deliver the physical infrastructure that hosts telecommunications equipment. This allows mobile network operators to provide communities and businesses across the UK with the mobile coverage they need and expect.

Outside of government funded programmes, investment into new telecommunications infrastructure is a commercial decision, but we want to ensure that any investment translates into real world impacts for consumers and businesses. This is why we are working with the industry to ensure that we have the right policy and regulatory framework in facilitate this, including removing barriers to deployment where they exist and it is practical to do so.