Britain’s Mobile Coverage Holding Back The Future

It is no secret that when it comes to 4g or 5g coverage, Britain’s mobile coverage has a lot of catching up to do. A recent report by the NIC has ranked Britain 54th in the world for 4g coverage, adding that the average user can only access a 4g connection 53% of the time. Whilst we have all faced connection problems at some point in our lives, be it on a train (tunnel!), on the motorway or even out on a walk, the further ramifications for being so far behind are now being highlighted, and the entire infrastructure is going to need some heavy investment if we are to keep up with the rest of the world.

With the dawning of driverless cars and more people than ever needing to be connected more of the time, the NIC has stated that;

“[The] Government must take responsibility to secure our digital future, starting with the creation of a strong digital champion backed by a dedicated cabinet minister to drive change.”

A reliable autonomous future is, at the moment, out of reach for Britain. Connectivity between traffic systems, cars, trains, phones and so on, will need to be as widespread and reliable as technologically possible. The NIC also suggests that the government should focus on 5g, they stated;

“5G offers us a chance to start again and get ahead. If government acts now we can ensure our major transport networks and urban centres are 5G ready in time to give British industry every chance to lead the world in exploiting its applications.”

As it stands, there will need to be a huge collaboration between the government and mobile phone providers. The key to increasing coverage so any future work can begin, will rely on how fast work can be completed, and of course, how much it will cost.

The NIC report states that the government should have the infrastructure on every major road and railway completed by 2025, which to me that seems a little ambitious, but I’m certainly not an expert in the field.

What do you think? Is what the NIC want possible by 2025? Have you ever had a problem getting connected on the go?