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Abandoned: Government's £150 million mobile mast scheme which failed to eliminate rural 'not spots'
United Kingdom Created: 12 Sep 2015
A £150 million government programme to eliminate mobile phone 'not spots' is to be abandoned after years of delay.

The Mobile Infrastructure Project was announced by Chancellor George Osborne nearly four years ago with the aim of building hundreds of masts in rural areas.

But the scheme has made slow progress amid problems finding workable transmission routes and landlords willing to host masts - as well as objections by local councils.

Now Culture Secretary John Whittingdale has admitted that as few as 40 masts will be erected by the time the project is due to wrap up next March.

The admission threatens to leave a pledge to deliver mobile phone coverage to 60,000 more remote premises across the UK - out of 80,000 in known 'not-spots' - in tatters.

Mr Whittingdale said: "The Mobile Infrastructure Project is continuing until the end of the financial year and is, I hope, going to deliver at least 40 masts.

"But it's proved more challenging than was initially understood - the operators have run into a lot of difficulties.

"The initial prediction of how many masts we could get has, we have had to accept, come down."

The comments were made to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, whose Conservative chairman Jesse Norman replied: "Yes, you're not kidding."

Mr Norman, whose committee also questioned progress delivering superfast broadband to rural areas, suggested people in the countryside were losing out from a "two stream system".

But Mr Whittingdale said people had to accept that in some parts of the country, including Scotland, there were "mountains we can't get around".

The Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP), unveiled by the Chancellor at the 2011 Conservative conference, was described as a key element in ensuring Britain is "a leading digital economy".

Two years ago, ministers promised it would "help connect rural communities, create local jobs and contribute to economic growth".

The "infrastructure and media services company" Arqiva was appointed to deliver the project and the big four mobile network operators pledged to provide their services.

The £150m fund was intended to pay for the infrastructure, while the mobile phone companies funded each site's operating costs for a 20-year lifespan.

With around 200 homes reached by each of the first masts erected, a few hundred were likely to be required for 60,000 premises.

In Scotland alone, 85 'not spots' were identified.

The completion date had already been put back from this year to March 2016, before Mr Whittingdale signalled it would be wound up next year.

It is understood that - in addition to the seven "live masts" - contracts have been signed for a further 24 sites.

The Government also believes a legally-binding landmark with the mobile phone giants - to guarantee coverage across 90 per cent of the UK - can cut mobile not-spots by two-thirds.

On MIP, a spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: "This government is investing in mobile infrastructure, making sure more households have better mobile coverage, and that people in rural areas are not left behind.

"Providing services for remote areas can be extremely complex but, as construction has begun on more and more sites, the rollout will gather speed."
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Source: Western Morning News, Rob Merrick, 11 Sep 2015

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