Mobile infrastructure
5G Innovations Region
In December 2023, following a competitive bid process during summer 2023, the Borderlands Region was awarded £3.8m of funding by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to deliver a programme to demonstrate the commercial opportunities for advanced wireless technology in a rural tourism setting. The funding is managed by Cumberland Council on behalf of the Borderlands Partners and must be spent by March 2025 but during the lifetime of the initial programme the Borderlands Partners will explore opportunities for follow on funding or other options to expand the programme. The programme is run and managed by Connecting Cumbria. Read more
The initial programme will focus on commercially viable and sustainable use of 5G technology to meet a mixture of use cases at five venues:
- Destination Tweed @ The Crook Inn
- Kielder Castle and Forest
- Stranraer Marina
- The Sill @ Hadrian’s Wall
- Windermere 5G Ferry
Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal Partnership
The Borderlands Partnership has been established to unlock the potential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth across the South of Scotland and North of England.
Representing up to £452million of fresh investment to the Borderlands area, the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal was formally signed on 18th March 2021 by Ministers of the UK and Scottish Governments, plus representatives of the (then five) councils of the Borderlands Partnership
Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council are included in the 6 local authorities which make up the Borderlands Partnership. Their ambition is to underpin sustainable and inclusive economic growth for the Borderlands region.
To find out more please visit the Borderlands website and the Digital Borderlands Infrastructure Strategy document.
The Shared Rural Network (SRN)
The UK Government Shared Rural Network mobile infrastructure programme, is seeking to deliver 95% geographical 4G coverage in the UK from at least one Mobile Network Operator by 2025. This work will be accomplished by a combination of commercial investment in areas with partial coverage and £500m of publicly funded investment into areas with no coverage from any operator (total not spots). The Connecting Cumbria team is working to facilitate and support deployment and to prioritise the county and maximise investment in Cumbria.
To find out more about the Shared Rural Network and how it is bringing mobile broadband to rural communities across the UK visit the SRN website and to find out the current predicted mobile availability in your area visit the OFCOM mobile postcode checker.
Progress so far…
We currently expect that the Shared Rural Network target will deliver 80% 4G geographic coverage from all four Mobile Network Operators by 2025 in Cumbria and 95% from at least one.
Emergency Services Network (ESN)
The Home Office is leading a cross-government programme to deliver the new Emergency Services Network (ESN) critical communications system. This will replace the current Airwave service used by the emergency services in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and transform how they operate. ESN will enable fast, safe and secure voice, video and data across the 4G network and give first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.
Investment in ESN will also mean improvements to 4G network coverage, which will allow 999 calls to be made from any 4G enabled mobile phone in some of the most remote and rural parts of Great Britain where it was not previously possible.