Call for evidence outcome

Wireless Infrastructure Strategy: call for evidence

From:: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Published: 14 October 2021
Last updated: 17 November 2021 — See all updates

Detail of outcome

The responses to this call for evidence played a crucial role in building our understanding of future demand for, and supply of, wireless connectivity and where the government needs to act.

We published the ‘UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy’ in April 2023.

See the ‘UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy’.

We received over 75 responses to this call for evidence from:

the telecoms industry
local and regional authorities
academia
business trade bodies

Original call for evidence

Call for evidence description

The government is committed to making the UK a global leader in digital connectivity. The pandemic has thrown the importance of connectivity into sharp relief, and it will continue playing a critical role in growing our economy, delivering our levelling up agenda and ensuring we meet our Net Zero ambitions. Our Wireless Infrastructure Strategy will set out the framework for the development, deployment and adoption of 5G and future wireless networks in the UK over the next decade.

To support this, the government is undertaking an extensive programme of evidence gathering:

This call for evidence has been launched to help us better understand what wireless connectivity the UK will need over the next decade and what more needs to be done to deliver it.

In July, the DCMS Secretary of State commissioned Ofcom to undertake analysis to support the development of the strategy. This complements Ofcom’s strategic review of the mobile market.

And we are working with other government departments and the Government Office for Science to explore public sector demand for wireless connectivity.

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