According to The Telegraph, a serious mobile communications crisis is escalating in the UK, and the problem goes beyond a lack of coverage in remote or hard‑to‑reach areas.

Mobile phone signal in London is now “worse than Kabul ten years ago,” said former Security Minister Mr. Tom Tugendhat.

The problem is especially acute in crowded places, such as packed trains.

At the same time, user demand is only increasing — monthly mobile traffic is growing by nearly 20% annually.

Operator investment in infrastructure, meanwhile, has fallen from £2.3 billion in 2020 to £1.8 billion in 2024.

What is the cause? The main snag is bureaucracy and local resistance:

• Planning delays hinder development — installing new towers, or even making minor modifications to existing antennas, requires permits, and applications can take more than two years to process

• Contradictory decisions at the local level: in London, where over 30 local authorities operate, the construction of the same tower may be approved on one side of a street and rejected on the other

• Height restrictions: outside cities, towers are limited to 30 meters in height — half the height permitted, for example, in the United States

• Economic barriers: rent restrictions introduced in 2017 removed the incentive for landowners to lease sites for towers

• Grounds for refusal: since 4G already covers over 96% of the country's territory, local authorities often use this as a reason to reject applications for new facilities, citing that “coverage already exists”.

What are the authorities and the industry doing about it?

• Industry representatives are sounding the alarm: Mr. Gareth Elliott, Director of Policy and Communications at Mobile UK, calls the situation a “pivotal” moment and urges the new government to prioritize connectivity improvements within its first 100 days in office

• The government has already relaxed some rules on tower dimensions and is consulting on further changes. The Ofcom regulator emphasizes that a unified national approach is needed to resolve the issue.

Natalie Black, Ofcom's head of infrastructure and connectivity, said: “People rightly expect connectivity they can count on — and delivering it will require a joined‑up national effort.”

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