The Financial Times reports that the telecoms regulator Ofcom has backed a plan for the sector to share masts and build new towers in remote areas in order to tackle rural connectivity ‘not spots’

Mobile operators spent several months arranging a plan to allow shared access to each other’s masts in rural areas. The idea has now received the backing of both the Government and Ofcom.

Had an agreement not been reached, the Government had threatened to force a system called ‘national roaming’ on the industry by allowing a customer’s phone to automatically roam on to the strongest signal available.

Operators instead agreed to establish a new company through which to share masts and to build new towers in areas not currently covered. Mobile coverage is currently at 91 per cent of the UK, which Ofcom considers ‘adequate’ but the Government has plans to achieve 95 per cent 4G coverage by 2025.

A formal deal will be signed off in the new year following legal arrangements between the mobile operators and the Government.

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Financial Times - Ofcom backs plan to tackle rural mobile phone ‘not spots’