#5g-rollout

#5g-rollout

Data-hungry rail passengers will have to wait until at least 2030 before getting something like universal mobile data coverage across the UK, a minister confirmed this week. That might be a disappointment for trainspotters and commuters who were left excitedly looking down the track in June, when Network Rail announced plans and partners to roll out 4G and 5G on key lines by 2028. But full(ish) coverage across mainline trains will only come via low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, courtesy of a tender process that is just getting off the ground.

Britain's ambition to deliver nationwide 5G coverage risks being derailed as farmers and rural landowners revolt over deep cuts to the rents paid for hosting mobile masts. Rents that once ran into thousands of pounds are being slashed by as much as 90% under laws designed to accelerate the rollout of digital infrastructure. In Cornwall, one farmer said his rent was reduced from £8,500 to £750, while another in Dorset saw his annual fee collapse from £5,000 to £1,600.