• Report from VodafoneThree warns UK is falling behind international rivals for mobile infrastructure deployments
• High energy costs and a shortage of engineers pose a serious threat to the UK mobile industry
• Operator calls on the government to reform planning and slicing regulations

UK mobile operators are at risk of falling behind their international rivals when it comes to upgrading infrastructure thanks to current regulatory frameworks, VodafoneThree has warned.

In the telco’s Mobile Market Index report, the UK is currently ranked eighth out of 10 countries for competitiveness, lagging behind the likes of Singapore, South Korea and the US as well as European rivals, such as Norway, Germany and Hungary.

One challenge holding the UK back, according to the index, is high energy costs. According to figures published by the UK government that compare energy costs with the 27 European Union (EU27) and a breakout group of 14 countries (EU14), the ‘medium’ UK energy user pays almost twice the EU average, while for large users it is even worse, with UK prices more than 132% higher than the EU14 median.

According to VodafoneThree’s analysis, there is also a gap emerging between the recruitment and training of new engineers and those retiring, which threatens the number of workers required to deliver new infrastructure.

Planning policy also has a significant impact, while the high cost of spectrum and a competitive mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market also present challenges for operators investing in infrastructure rollouts.

VodafoneThree networks director, Andrea Dona, said: “Since the merger, we have raised the bar for connectivity in the UK, eliminating thousands of ‘not-spots’ and providing millions of people with access to our fastest 5G speeds.

“But we cannot afford to lose momentum. Fast, reliable and quality mobile networks are a fundamental driver of economic growth and prosperity, which is why we support the UK government’s efforts to examine the barriers holding back our mobile networks. Bringing the UK’s investment environment up to the standard of our international peers could help to support public services, eliminate digital divides and enable communities to thrive,” he added.

Earlier this year, the UK government launched its Mobile Market Review (MMR). Alongside other consultations and government strategies, this call for evidence represents a collective effort by the country’s government to work with the industry to update the UK’s connectivity policy, and the enabling role that it has for the wider economy.

Together with the publication of its Index, VodafoneThree recommended three policy changes for the MMR to make the country more competitive: Planning reform, to support advanced network rollouts; energy reform, including support to mitigate high energy costs for the sector; and new regulations that support 5G network slicing.

You can read the full methodology behind VodafoneThree’s Index here.

 - James Pearce, Contributing Editor, TelecomTV