UK telecom executives have rejected a government demand to improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas, forcing ministers to consider new options, two people familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times. Culture secretary Sajid Javid has made “national roaming” an important part of attempts to boost mobile coverage before the 2015 general election. It would allow customers to use any operator’s network for voice calls in so-called “not spots”, areas where their carrier offers no coverage.
Digital economy minister Ed Vaizey, who has taken oversight of the project, is seeking mobile operators’ agreement on national roaming by the start of 2015. Mobile operators rejected the idea as unworkable in this timeframe and undesirable in principle, outlining its complexity and pushing for alternatives. Vaizey responded with requests for alternatives to extend voice services across the UK. These include sharing mast infrastructure. EE and Vodafone have already boosted rural mobile coverage, according to the Financial Times. One executive stated that national roaming has not been adopted in any other country, reflecting the problems of ringfencing voice and individual parts of the network. The industry also argues that national roaming would reduce the incentive to invest to beat rivals on quality of service.
Vaizey said the government was investing up to GBP 150 million to improve coverage in area where no operator is present through the Mobile Infrastructure Project and was continuing to look at ways to improve service where some but not all MNOs are present, including national roaming. A cost and benefit analysis of national roaming is underway at the Department for Culture.
