Government must ensure the right conditions are in place to accelerate the market led deployment of 5G. By the end of 2025, government should:
- improve the consistency of approvals for 5G masts by planning authorities, including by allocating funding for local authority digital champions and publishing a list of the best and worst performing local authorities for site approvals
- work with Ofcom to encourage further use of the Shared Access Licence regime to speed up access to spectrum and open up opportunities for new services, including where increased power may be needed in some locations, and to ensure it supports localised private networks
- develop options for subsiding 5G coverage in uncommercial areas, should new use cases demonstrate the need for nationwide coverage.
