Rishi has welcomed progress on making sure the most isolated parts of North Yorkshire have mobile phone and 4G network coverage.
Three telecommunications masts have now been activated in remote areas of the Yorkshire Dales under the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme launched by the Government when he was Chancellor.
The masts, which are being used by all four major mobile phone networks are in Coverdale and near Hawes – previously ‘not-spots’ where there was no signal coverage.
Four more – south of West Burton, in Arkengarthdale, west of Keld and north of Low Row, Swaledale – will be activated later this year.
The masts were first constructed for a national Home Office project to primarily provide a new communications system for the emergency services.
The SRN programme, costing more than £1bn, was set-up to ensure that the new masts were used by all the mobile networks to improve coverage in the most isolated parts of the country, particularly those areas which previously had no coverage at all.
In 2019, outdoor geographic 4G coverage from all mobile network operators was available across only 61.08% of the area Mr Sunak represents. By 2025 it had increased to 72% and is expected to increase further to 77%.
Also, only 83.32% of the MP’s area had 4G outdoor geographic coverage in 2019 from any (one or more) mobile network operator. This increased to 94% in 2025 and is expected to increase to 95% by the end of the programme in early 2027.
Rishi said: “I included the £500m-plus of Government funding for the Shared Rural Network programme in my first Budget as Chancellor in March 2020 so it was very gratifying to see these masts delivering better connectivity to people in my area.
“The days when huge swathes of areas like Yorkshire Dales were completely without any signal are gone. I look forward to the remaining masts being upgraded under this programme going live in a few months’ time.
Ben Roome, chief executive of MOVA, the company which runs and manages the SRN scheme, said: “The Shared Rural Network is a programme that has been quietly delivering real improvements in mobile coverage, and this Extended Area Service mast in Richmond and Northallerton is a good example of that progress.
“With 116 EAS sites now live across the UK, collaboration between mobile network operators is turning long‑term commitments into reliable 4G connectivity for rural communities.”
ENDS
