Mobile operator Three UK has announced that they’ve started construction of the UK’s first joint mast site in Scotland under the £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project, which is expected to go live in early 2023 and supply 4G (mobile broadband) connectivity to customers on the Isle of Mull.
The SRN is an industry-led scheme – supported by a public investment of £500m and £530m from operators – that aims to help extend geographic 4G coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025 (it may also help the 5G rollout). The scheme essentially involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between the operators.
As part of this Three UK is leading the build of the project’s first joint site on the Isle of Mull. This is one of 66 sites across Argyll and Bute that will deliver 4G connectivity as part of the SRN programme. It aims to increase geographic coverage from 56% of Scotland’s landmass to “at least” 72% by 2024, the largest SRN commitment among the home nations.
Customers of both O2 and Vodafone will also be able to use the site, which reflects an earlier agreement that will see each MNO build 74 shared sites, which so far as we can tell was announced nearly two years ago in January 2021 (here).
Suffice to say that it’s taken a long time for Three UK to turn the original agreement into their first joint mast site, although this is perhaps unsurprising given the complexity of finding good locations, securing planning permission and then supplying power / fibre to such sites. None of that is an easy process.
Iain Milligan, CNO of Three UK, said:
“Mobile connectivity is absolutely critical for communities in every part of the UK, helping to support the local economy and keeping people connected with their friends and family. I am proud that Three is leading the way by delivering the first of these shared sites in the Scottish Isles where I believe it will have a transformative effect on coverage.”
Three will next start construction on two further sites in Argyll and Bute, and Aberdeenshire, before Christmas as it ramps up its programme of improvements in Scotland. As part of the wider SRN programme, work is also well underway across all home nations, with 51 new sites already live.
The coverage target for the SRN does tend to vary a bit between the regions, depending also on whether you’re looking at individual operators or all of them.