John Cooke, Executive Director of the Mobile Operators Association said; “In a country of 60 million people, there are nearly 82 million mobile subscriptions with mobile use at 92%. Mobile broadband is an increasingly important part of the country’s digital infrastructure. Four in ten people are already accessing the Internet using a mobile device, a proportion that’s rising all the time as smartphones become the norm, and as more and more people have tablet computers.”
“However, this national infrastructure is built and delivered locally and an efficient and effective planning system is crucial to the mobile operators’ ability to keep pace with Government ambition and customer demand. Complying with the current processes represents a significant resource commitment for operators and can be prohibitive in areas where the economic case for investment is already difficult to make.”
“Mobile operators support the Government’s previous commitment to work with mobile operators, local government and others to consider ways that the planning process might be streamlined to speed up the deployment of mobile infrastructure.
“We urge government to ensure that these proposals become a reality and that the key contribution of mobile broadband to our national economy is recognised.”