Economic Unit

5G Outdoor Coverage

Coverage provided by at least one mobile operator increased from 67–78% in 2022 to 85–93% in 2023.
5G traffic also grew by approximately 140%.

Although the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy and related policies have helped accelerate wireless connectivity deployment,
there remain areas where government and industry must work together more effectively to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of the digital revolution.

Key Challenges for Wireless Connectivity Development in the UK

To realise the benefits of wireless connectivity, the government must work with industry to address several key challenges:

• High costs of upgrading and maintaining networks.

• Limited progress in implementing OpenRAN in the UK despite government commitments.

• Uncertainty over 5G demand and limited awareness of its benefits.

• Need for higher-quality nationwide public network coverage.

• Persistent disparities in wireless coverage across regions, widening the urban–rural divide.

• Increasing competition for spectrum access.

• The need to maintain the security of private networks, which are growing in number.

5G Deployment

5G deployment promises:

• faster connectivity,

• greater capacity,

• and lower latency;

allowing more users and devices to access high-speed internet and handle significant data volumes simultaneously.

5G has the potential to:

• significantly boost innovation and economic productivity,

• transform business operations through digitalisation and broader automation,

• strengthen competitiveness,

• and provide more secure and resilient networks,

• enabling new use cases such as AR/VR.

The government expects widespread 5G adoption by 2035 to generate £159 billion in cumulative productivity benefits.

5G will serve as the digital platform supporting autonomous vehicles, smart cities, automated factories, and remote healthcare services.

Adoption of 5G alone is projected to increase the value of UK industrial output by up to £6.3 billion by 2030.

Difference Between Initial 5G Deployment and Standalone 5G

• Non-Standalone 5G (NSA):
  the starting point toward advanced 5G adoption, combining a 5G radio access network with existing 4G core infrastructure.

• Standalone 5G (SA):
  a mobile network built on a dedicated 5G core, providing ultra-low latency and significantly enhanced capabilities.

Current UK 5G does not deliver the technological leap needed for the digital revolution.
To achieve a fully realised 5G future, the UK must:

• unlock investment in networks,

• remove deployment barriers,

• and strengthen its position as a leader in next-generation telecom R&D.

Government Performance on 5G Rollout

Government performance has been mixed, and delays risk costing the UK economy tens of billions of pounds.

Although the UK was an early global adopter of 5G in 2019,
it has since fallen behind leading nations such as South Korea and China.

Base station density per capita lags behind the EU, the US, and most of Asia,
and operators face persistent challenges in meeting high levels of demand.

As data consumption grows, 5G infrastructure has struggled to keep pace,
preventing full delivery of the technology’s benefits to users.

Opensignal data (December 2023) showed that UK mobile users experienced the slowest average 5G download speeds among G7 nations,
recording 118.2 Mbps between 1 August and 29 October 2023 — a 13% decline compared with the same period in 2022.

The challenge of meeting network demand has accelerated operator consolidation and underscored the need for effective spectrum allocation.

This decline in performance follows warnings of insufficient investment, ongoing infrastructure deployment barriers, and disruption caused by the government’s Huawei equipment ban on national security grounds.