The Institution of Engineering and Technology, Europe’s largest engineering and technology organisation, is calling on the UK government to take radical steps and change its plans for 4G mobile phone spectrum allocation. Without these changes, the IET says regulation will continue to be a serious barrier to growth.
It wants the government to define a ‘national ambition’ for mobile infrastructure to support UK competitiveness, investment and innovation.
Professor Will Stewart, who chairs the IET Communications Policy Panel, said “Growing demand for broadband is stretching the capability of existing networks. Wholesale network competition must perform better or we will fall further and further behind consumer expectations. It is important for the Government and regulators to promote a vision for the future of mobile superfast services that inspire sustainable investment and wider competition. A reformed and modernised UK network regulatory framework then needs to fully support this ambition. It is not about more regulation but the right regulation.”
The IET is asking the government to consider mobile and fixed-line communications more fully in the context of national infrastructure in the same way that it does with energy, transport and water.