FarrPoint carried out an independent study that analysed the socio-economic impact of four 4G mobile sites on the rural communities they serve across the UK.
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(this will open in a new window)EE commissioned FarrPoint to conduct an independent study to analyse the socio-economic impact of four 4G mobile sites on rural communities across the UK. This study aimed to quantify the benefits associated with enhancing mobile connectivity in these areas.
Rural areas in the UK often struggle with inadequate mobile connectivity, which hampers local businesses, people's wellbeing, and overall economic growth. The primary challenges include the high costs of deploying and maintaining mobile networks and the perceived value of such investments. Approximately 9% of the UK still lacks sufficient mobile coverage, posing a significant barrier to closing the digital divide.
FarrPoint leveraged years of experience with rural UK communities and specialist economics knowledge to assess the impact of improved 4G connectivity. FarrPoint focused on quantifying the initial construction impact, increases in overall regional economic output, and social wellbeing benefits of 4G upgrades, while also exploring additional qualitative benefits. Following established appraisal guidelines, these benefits over a 15-year period were also compared against data from EE on costs of the investment, to determine whether they made a net positive impact on the local communities.
This study provided the necessary evidence of how improving mobile connectivity in rural communities can help local businesses grow, support employment opportunities, and enable more people to experience the benefits of the digital economy. It makes the case for further investment in digital connectivity across Britain's most rural and remote areas.
(this will open in a new window)Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, highlighted the transformative impact of modern mobile connectivity on rural communities. He explained:
Every rural community can benefit from modern mobile connectivity. This report provides evidence of how it is helping local businesses grow, supporting rural employment opportunities, and enabling more people to experience the benefits of the digital economy. That’s why we’re proud to have delivered on the coverage targets we committed to, helping to close the digital divide and ensure that the benefits of 4G connectivity are more widely felt in every corner of the UK.
(this will open in a new window)Dr. Andrew Muir, CEO of FarrPoint, emphasised the potential of digital infrastructure to meet rural needs and the ongoing efforts to extend mobile services to challenging areas.
At FarrPoint, we believe digital infrastructure can meet rural needs despite technical challenges, yet about 9% of the UK still lacks mobile coverage. The main issue is often the cost and perceived value of such investments. We were pleased to study the benefits of EE's investments in four sites under the Shared Rural Network (SRN), which positively impacts rural connectivity and shows the industry's ability to extend services to challenging areas.
For further details and a full list of findings, the report is available for download, and additional insights can be found on (this will open in a new window)EE's website.
If you're interested in learning more about this work or how FarrPoint could help review your projects, get in touch.
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