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A new report from the cross-sector UK Spectrum Policy Forum (UKSPF), which was conducted in collaboration with consultancy firm Coleago Consulting, has warned that only 22% of farmers get a reliable mobile signal (2G, 4G or 5G) across their whole farm. But the report argues that the fix for this isn’t more spectrum, it’s better access to the spectrum we already have.
The report – ‘Future Spectrum User Demand in the UK‘ – looks at three uses that it claims “standard forecasts miss” because they barely move any data (mobile broadband), yet still fail badly when the signal drops: sensors on farms, drones in the air, and drones that restore mobile coverage for emergency teams.
According to the study, demand can no longer be judged by data traffic alone. A rural sensor may send just a few bytes at a time, and a drone’s control link needs little bandwidth. Both still depend on coverage, availability, latency, resilience and security, and a failed connection can have consequences far out of proportion to the data involved.