UK government has another look at laws governing access to telecoms infrastructure

Now that we’re free of EU regulation it’s time to make the Electronic Communications Code fit for purpose.

Credit where it’s due to the UK government for getting on with this less than a month after it shook off Europe’s regulatory shackles. As is so often the case, the first step to updating a law is a consultation, which was launched today. It mainly concerns the rules that govern the relationship between landowners and telcos that have infrastructure on that land, with both sides having their fair share of moans on the matter.

“As part of our vision to level up the UK with better connectivity and faster broadband speeds, we’re looking at reforming the law so people can get the benefits of better connectivity as soon as possible,” said Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure.

Warman specifically wants input on three areas:

The consultation proposes reviewing automatic rights that are used when a base station needs to be upgraded or shared among operators to remove coverage blackspots, to make clear when these rights should be available. It’s presumably no coincidence that this review has been announced on the same day that most UK MNOs announced plans for a shared rural network.

“The Government has set ambitious targets on extending coverage and capacity and getting the regulatory framework right to enable operators to deploy their networks is essential,” said Hamish MacLeod, Director at Mobile UK. “We welcome the consultation on the Electronic Communications Code as a vital part of this strategy.”

If the government is serious about doing everything it can to improve mobile connectivity in the UK then this seems like very low-hanging fruit indeed. Reforming this law requires no public funds and would probably do far more than the piecemeal micro-incentives we’ve seen scattered around recently. The 5G rollout requires access to infrastructure, so we just need come up with a simple system whereby operators can access their kit and landowners are adequately compensated.