(The Economist)

BRITAIN HAS long been a pioneer in telecoms. In 1837 it built the world’s first commercial telegraph; the first transatlantic call was placed from London in 1927; in 1992 a British programmer sent the first text message to a mobile phone.

Today it lags rather than leads. According to figures provided to The Economist by Opensignal, a research firm, Britain ranks 46th for download speeds out of the 56 developed and developing countries for which there are data (see chart).

That gives it the worst mobile service in the rich world. Some of this is due to demand. Over the past three years data usage on mobile devices has doubled as people stream films and play games.

The busiest parts of cities often lack mobile reception because the system is at capacity. But mainly it is an issue of supply.

British users of 5G—the fifth generation of networks, which offers speeds up to ten times faster than 4G—are only on it 11% of the time. That puts Britain 43rd out of the 56 countries.

This lacklustre performance is caused by a combination of government U-turns, insufficient investment and sclerotic planning.

First, the U-turns. Until 2020 Britain’s four mobile operators were enthusiastic buyers of 5G equipment manufactured by Huawei, a Chinese firm.

But after intense lobbying from America, Britain’s politicians reversed course: telecoms operators must now remove all their 5G Huawei equipment by 2027. 

This has delayed 5G’s roll-out. The country’s four mobile providers—BT/EE, O2, Three and Vodafone—have spent about £2bn ($2.6bn) over the past four years ripping out and replacing Huawei equipment. Second, the need for more investment.

About 90% of Britain’s 5G signals are broadcast from bolt-ons to the existing 4G network.

This “non-stand-alone” version of 5G does not allow “network slicing”, a way to get greater capacity in congested areas, or the quick response times needed to communicate with new technologies such as self-driving cars.

A new “core network” using stand-alone technology must be installed to get the full benefits of 5G. But, according to Frontier Economics, a consultancy, the four mobile operators are likely to invest only about £9bn of the £22bn-32bn required.

A marriage might help. Vodafone and Three, the country’s third- and fourth-largest mobile operators, say they are too small to justify the high capital expenditure of stand-alone 5G, and that they would invest £11bn over a decade if they could merge.

Karen Egan of Enders Analysis, a consultancy, estimates that synergies would result in a 30% increase in network capacity. 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a watchdog, is due to decide on the merger on December 7th; it has suggested that 5G investment would be a legally binding condition for a deal. Even if the CMA allows the merger, improving 5G network capacity means erecting more masts.

In 2022 the rules were loosened to permit masts less than 30 metres high to be built without having to seek planning permission. But operators still complain.

Shorter masts cover a smaller area, so more must be built. O2 says it takes at least six months to get a decision on a mast over 30 metres high; applications are often stymied by local opposition.

Overcoming these obstacles is vital for achieving the goal of universal 5G by 2030.

It will also be needed for the eventual roll-out of 6G. In laboratory environments the next generation of mobile networks has reportedly notched up speeds 100 times faster than 5G. Britain is anything but that.■