Today the UK marks AI Awareness Day, a campaign designed to build AI literacy across UK schools and ensure the next generation can understand, use, and shape artificial intelligence.

Attention continues to focus on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence from revolutionising education systems and public services to driving economic growth and productivity. Government has been clear in its ambition to position Britain as a global AI superpower. It’s an ambition the mobile industry shares.  

But there is a critical gap in the conversation, mobile connectivity. Mobile connectivity is the critical national infrastructure (CNI) that underpins the AI revolution. It enables real-time data transfer, low-latency processing, and seamless access to cloud-based intelligence. Without it, AI cannot scale, and the UK cannot deliver on its ambitions.  

While the UK performs strongly on affordability for consumers, it currently ranks just 36th globally for infrastructure quality. That is a warning sign. If we want to lead in AI, we must first fix the foundational plumbing that enables it.  

If a pupil cannot access AI tools at school, if a household struggles with patchy connectivity, or if a rural community lacks reliable coverage, then they are effectively locked out of the AI future before they even begin. AI must not become a technology defined by access.  

Standalone 5G has the potential to enhance access to AI, delivering consistent, high-quality access to powerful tools regardless of geography. It allows students to learn, creators to innovate, and businesses to compete from anywhere.  

But that future is not guaranteed.  

The current investment environment facing mobile network operators is “extremely challenging.” Rising costs, regulatory burdens, and constraints on deployment are undermining the ability to invest at the scale and pace required.  

The result is a real risk: just as AI becomes central to economic and social participation, the UK could see the digital divide deepen. Communities without strong connectivity will fall further behind, not just in access to technology but in opportunity itself.  

If the UK is serious about AI leadership, it must be equally serious about the infrastructure that enables it.  

That starts with policy reform.  

As the Government proceeds with its Mobile Market Review, we are urging some practical and deliverable proposals within the current parliament that will transform the outlook for mobile connectivity and the ambitions to be a leader in AI. First, the Government should reform net neutrality regulations to drive innovation in the way mobile connectivity is delivered, Secondly, small targeted planning reforms are required to unlock faster upgrades and better coverage.

Operators need the ability to upgrade sites, deploy new infrastructure, and access spectrum ahead of demand without being slowed by outdated processes designed for a pre-AI era. AI-driven services will dramatically increase data demand, and networks must be ready. In turn these updates to planning rules will unlock £1–2.5 billion in immediate economic benefits as well as reduce administrative pressures on local planning authorities.  

Second, the financial burden on the sector must be addressed. Nearly £1 billion of costs are imposed by regulators, including £260m annually for spectrum licence fees, which acts as a direct tax on connectivity. Reforming these Annual Licence Fees (ALFs) and reinvesting that funding into network expansion would unlock capital to extend high-quality 5G into rural and underserved areas.  

This is not just about improving coverage. It is about ensuring every school, every individual, and every community can participate in the AI economy.

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