The UK government is considering overhauling the current 25m height restriction on mobile telecoms masts, in a bid to boost rural connectivity.
The country's digital minister, Nicky Morgan, confirmed that her department has launched a consultation on the possibility of increasing the maximum permitted height for telecoms infrastructure.
"This is about broader digital connectivity. So, we will obviously look to the mobile companies and those installing those infrastructures to see what it is they actually need," she said.
"And the point is there has to be a balance struck. We all want better phone signal. We all want to be able to download things much more quickly, so we have to have the infrastructure there.
"We have to make sure it's done in a sensitive way, with respect to certain areas of outstanding natural beauty."
The UK government has long made rural connectivity one of its top priorities, with the country's big four mobile network operators currently hammering out details of a deal for a shared rural network.
Morgan said that installing taller masts would result in a boost in network availability levels as well as reducing the number of masts that needed to be deployed during 5G rollout.
Source: https://www.totaltele.com/503682/UK-considers-taller-5G-masts-to-boost-rural-connectivity