The “digital divide” between urban and rural areas has been widening, with nearly half of rural deprived areas classed as 5G ‘not-spots’ compared to just 2.7 per cent in urban areas, Vodafone has said.
The report Connecting the Countryside, which has been carried out by WPI Economics on behalf of the operator, claims that close to a million (838,000) people are living in areas that would significantly benefit from access to 5G Standalone.
Currently, the UK’s 5G networks are non-standalone, meaning that the core of the network is largely the same as it was during the days of 4G. With 5G Standalone, the entire network package has been upgraded with 5G-era technology, which should bring higher download and upload speeds. Most 5G in the UK is using non-standalone because it is cheaper and quicker to roll out.
According to Vodafone, Scotland, Wales, East Anglia, Cumbria and the South-West are the worst-performing areas of Britain for connectivity.
Vodafone said it “pledged” to close the digital divide by delivering on the government’s 2030 5G coverage ambitions, which were set out in the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, by providing 95 per cent of the UK population with 5G Standalone coverage by 2030 and extending that to 99 per cent by 2034.
It said the improved connectivity would help emergency services to respond faster, education in rural areas could benefit from enhanced distance learning, and in agricultural areas 5G-enabled sensors could improve crop yields.
Andrea Donà, chief network officer at Vodafone UK, said: “We believe everyone should have access to connectivity and our research shows the alarming rate at which almost a million people living in deprived rural communities are being left behind.
“It’s clear we need to accelerate the roll-out of the UK’s 5G infrastructure, which is what we commit to do as part of our proposed merger with Three UK. We would close the rural digital divide by delivering 95 per cent 5G Standalone geographic coverage by 2034.”
In June, Vodafone and Three owner CK Hutchison agreed to a £15bn merger for their UK operations after more than eight months of talks. After the announcement, concerns were raised over Three’s Chinese ownership and the risk this poses to data security.
Trade union Unite has also claimed that the merger could see mobile phone bills increase by as much as £300 a year due to reduced competition for consumers.
Simon Fell, Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness, said: “New research published today lays bare the challenge we face to bring connectivity to our most deprived rural communities to match the rest of the country and to ensure that millions of people are not left out from the future innovations that 5G can provide.
“We need to deliver ‘nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030, ensuring that we can bring its full benefits to villages and rural communities well beyond cities and towns’ as set out in the government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy. Some of these innovations are already a reality, and simply need connectivity as the final piece of the puzzle.”
