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The UK Government has published a progress update on their part of the industry-led £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) project this morning, which reveals that a total of 150 publicly-funded rural 4G (mobile broadband) mast upgrades have now gone live across the United Kingdom (up from 140 in June 2026).
The SRN – originally supported by a commitment of £501m in public funding and £532m of private investment from operators – involves both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between the operators.
The SRN last year achieved its first target a year ahead of schedule by ensuring that 96% of the UK’s landmass can now access a 4G mobile network from at least one operator (here), although the coverage range drops to 89-90% when looking look across all operators (here). The project is now focused on tackling the second target to reduce Total Not-Spot (TNS) areas by January 2027.
The upgrades – all delivered through existing infrastructure to protect scenic spots – mean additional 4G is now available across more than 5,684 square kilometres combined across the UK and includes three of the UK’s most iconic hiking landscapes: the Lake District, Snowdonia and Exmoor. Previously, these areas would only be in range of EE’s coverage – or none at all, but now O2 and Vodafone / Three UK can also reach them.
Some of Britain’s most iconic national parks are among the biggest winners from the SRN. Compared to other parks, the Yorkshire Dales and Eryri (Snowdonia) have seen the biggest boosts in mobile coverage rising by around 7 percentage points in each, according to latest government figures, helping visitors stay connected.
New analysis shows 42 Shared Rural Network sites have now been activated across the UK’s national parks:
- 25 sites in England, including seven in the Lake District and six in the Yorkshire Dales.
- 16 sites in Wales, including 12 in Eryri/Snowdonia.
- 1 site in Scotland, in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.
Ian Murray, Minister of State for the DCMS, said:
“You should be able to switch off in the countryside without being cut off from the help and services you need.
These 150 masts are helping change that – giving walkers, visitors and rural communities better access to signal when they are checking a route, contacting family, running a business or calling for help.”
In terms of how much work is left to do before the start of 2027. According to DCMS, up to 40 government funded mast upgrades will be going live across Britain and up to 44 new publicly funded masts will also be built across Scotland, with the first already live in the Western Isles.
Current SRN 4G Geographic Coverage Progress (June 2026)
