By Hamish MacLeod, Chief Executive, Mobile UK

With the arrival of Andy Burnham at Number 10, Westminster is preparing for a leadership style focused on regional regeneration, integrated public services, and national economic growth ‘to every post code’.

While policy makers focussed on highly visible capital projects like new datacentres, rail links or energy grids, mobile connectivity—the ultimate enabler of innovation and nationwide productivity growth—cannot continue to be overlooked.

If the Government is serious about reviving every part of the country, a sustained focus on mobile infrastructure deployment will be needed to underpin this widespread growth mission. Mobile networks are the invisible thread holding the country together, generating five pounds of economic value for every pound invested by operators. To deliver on his promises, the Prime Minister must seize the opportunity and prioritise mobile connectivity from day one.

The Big Question: Will the Next Government Back the Mobile Sector?

The next government will have to actively back the mobile sector with reforms that accelerate investment, public and private, and improve services, or risk the UK continuing to fall behind in international connectivity league tables. Crucially, if the incoming Prime Minister chooses to back the sector, that commitment must be backed by a strong, empowered department with cross-government authority—one where the sector is a top priority, rather than a diluted function scattered across Whitehall."

To achieve good growth, the Prime Minister’s incoming team must urgently pick up the mantle of the ongoing Mobile Market Review (MMR). This review cannot be treated as a bureaucratic exercise; it must be a critical turning point that delivers a step change in mobile services nationwide.

To achieve this, the state must fundamentally shift its priority and regulatory outlook for the industry. Our dependency on mobile networks has skyrocketed to a point where they are no longer an optional commercial convenience, but Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

Over 120 million active connections now power the UK. The economy stands to reap a £230 billion economic boost if the policy framework unlocks advanced 5G standalone connectivity—but operators face an uphill battle against a decade of falling revenues and near £1 billion in annual regulatory burdens.

Overcoming the Barriers

Further, if the new Prime Minister wants to see these advanced mobile networks built, he must also confront the structural roadblocks hidden within our planning system. Inconsistent local authority decisions and under-resourced planning departments working from frameworks that fail to recognise the importance of digital infrastructure act as a significant constraint on commercial network rollouts

The new government must take the opportunity to expand permitted development rights within its first 100 days. Speeding up the planning system is vital for maximising network investment, and by treating mobile masts as critical national infrastructure rather than aesthetic eyesores, government could deliver on its good growth agenda.

Driving a Strong, Sustainable, and Innovative Market

The Prime Minister and his new Government must recognise that a strong,sustainable, and commercially successful mobile sector is the only way to attract the massive private capital required to build out national infrastructure. For decades, the market has been squeezed by high regulatory costs that act as an indirect "tax on connectivity."

To reverse this, the new administration must use the Mobile Market Review to deliver decisive reforms across three critical regulatory levers: by adjusting Annual Licence Fees (ALFs) to ensure spectrum fees can be  reinvested directly into rural coverage and network resilience; release new spectrum frequencies ahead of demand to create a lower-cost, high-capacity pathway for operators; while modernising net neutrality rules to encourage commercial innovation and allow operators to build tailored data packages without unnecessary restrictions.

By tackling these structural constraints, the government will finally give the industry the financial breathing room to innovate, creating a virtuous circle of commercial investment and national productivity.

The "No. 10 in the North" and the Caroline Simpson Opportunity

The prospective establishment of a "No. 10 in the North" presents a major opportunity to reshape how digital infrastructure is delivered across the UK. Caroline Simpson, Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), has already proven the value of this approach by successfully elevating digital connectivity to the top of the regional political agenda. Her expected leadership role within this new northern function offers a direct mechanism notonly to dismantle traditionally siloed thinking but to replicate Manchester’s collaborative digital model on a national scale.

The First 100 Days: Our Crucial Policy Asks

Mobile operators stand ready to invest the significant capital expenditure required to propel the UK up the connectivity league tables. But private ambition cannot scale alone while structural coordination failures, limited public investment and excessive regulatory taxes remain active blocks.

MobileUK is calling on the Burnham administration to execute three concrete policy actions within its first 100 days to signal its ambition:

1. Advance the Mobile Market Review (MMR): Pushing this review across the finish line to build on the regulatory levers discussed—such as spectrum and licence fee reform—shifting the policy framework toward an environment that actively incentivises capital investment and real-world network quality and recognises that there is a role for the state in non-economic areas.
2. Deliver Permitted Development Rights Reform: Streamlining infrastructure renewal to speed up mobile site upgrades and wipe out unnecessary administrative and local delays.
3. Accelerate National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Reform: Updating the NPPF to legally mandate local authorities to treat network deployment with the same strategic urgency as housing or energy generation.

The Virtue of Connection

The Mobile Market Review is the one real chance in this Parliament to reset the trajectory of British connectivity and catch up with our international competitors.

Britain was a pioneer of the mobile phone, and under a Prime Minister who understands the material impact of local infrastructure on everyday lives, we can lead the AI era. The industry is mobilised and ready to build. We now need the new tenant of Number 10 to match our ambition, help us mobilise all actors, d provide the policy framework to truly Mobilise Britain.

‍