31 March 2025: 45 government-funded mast upgrades as part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) were activated by the end of March 2025. 24 sites are now live in Wales, 13 in Scotland and 8 in England.
Recent activations during March 2025 mean that areas including the Bellingham, Tarset, Greenhaugh, Donkleywood, Hesleyside, Aros, Morvern, Pennyghael, Newcastleton, Rowanburn, Creca, Drumburgh, Harelaw, have more reliable coverage. These activations add to the coverage enhancements already made to communities across Scotland, England and Wales.
These activations also cover parts of Northumberland National Park, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, Eryri National Park and the Solway Coast, enhancing connectivity in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The boost has been carried out by upgrading existing mobile masts which previously only connected EE customers and anyone making 999 calls, meaning communities can benefit from improved connectivity without the visual impact involved when building new masts.
It will enable residents, tourists and businesses to access reliable 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators – EE, Three, VMO2 and Vodafone – closing the digital divide between urban and rural communities and boosting economic growth across the nations.
Since the Shared Rural Network programme began in 2020, an additional 34,000 square kilometres – an area roughly double the size of Northern Ireland or 4.6 million football pitches – are receiving coverage from all four operators, EE, Three, VMO2 and Vodafone.
