Committee publication · Correspondence · 2 March 2026
Correspondence from Minister for Digital Economy, re: follow-ups from 9 December oral evidence session on Digital inclusion and telecoms, 6 February 2026
From: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
Inquiry: Digital inclusion and telecoms
Summary
Baroness Lloyd of Effra responds to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee's follow-up questions from December's oral evidence on digital inclusion and telecoms. The letter covers four areas: population density thresholds for 5G deployment (no specific numerical threshold set), mobile coverage targets (none for individual consumers; a call for evidence forthcoming), infrastructure sharing policy (no mandatory sharing across all networks to avoid burdening smaller operators), and OneWeb investment (framed as supporting UK security and resilience). The government also updates the committee on the Digital Inclusion Action Committee's December meeting and planned March conference.
Key findings
- Government has not set a specific numerical population density threshold for areas with 'limited to no inhabitants' for 5G deployment; Ofcom uses premises as a proxy.
- No targets or ambitions exist for individual consumer mobile coverage; a call for evidence will examine whether the standalone 5G ambition should extend further.
- Statutory obligations require each mobile operator to provide 4G coverage to 89.2% of UK landmass by end-January 2027, forecasted to deliver 82% coverage from all four operators.
- Government will not mandate infrastructure sharing across all networks, citing disproportionate costs for smaller operators; instead, it will ask Ofcom to prevent excessive pricing in single-operator areas and require wholesale access for Project Gigabit-funded infrastructure.
- OneWeb investment is justified as securing UK national security and resilience through LEO satellite communications, with government rights over network security and a partnership with Eutelsat for crisis response capabilities.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Baroness Lloyd of Effra, Dame Chi Onwurah, Ofcom, Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Eutelsat, OneWeb
Notable line
“It is not the government's intention to mandate infrastructure sharing between all networks.”
Key Quotes
“To date, the government has not stated a specific numerical threshold for population size or population density that would classify an area as having "limited to no inhabitants".”
“It is not the government's intention to mandate infrastructure sharing between all networks. We believe this would be disproportionate at this stage as it would result in high costs for smaller operators to deliver and maintain …”
“The government's stake in Eutelsat and OneWeb supports UK resilience by securing OneWeb as a UK company, ensuring the UK's access to its services in the future …”
“The Committee's advice and constructive challe nge is actively shaping Government's work on digital inclusion and skills …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗