A year on from the £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) agreement being signed, Shared Access is ready to help mobile network operators increase 4G coverage in rural areas to meet government targets - and increase access to grassroots sport at the same time.
As an independent owner and operator of shared wireless infrastructure, Shared Access has some exciting sporting partnerships that offer UK-wide infrastructure to the mobile network operators, and great opportunity for local communities. With access to over 30,000 strategically located sites, Shared Access is ideally placed to support improved connectivity.
Sam Jackman, Chief Development Officer at Shared Access: “Our network of tower sites means we can offer turnkey solutions to all the mobile network operators. We have partnerships to develop new infrastructure with The English FA and the Welsh FA, and we’ve recently added the Scottish Football Partnership Trust to increase the numbers of potential sites available in Scotland.
“Through our investment in onsite facilities such as floodlights at football clubs, we’ll help boost participation in grassroots sport, which is vital now that Covid restrictions are starting to ease. Our operating model means that we can easily help address the UK’s coverage gaps, enabling businesses and local communities to prosper.”
The SRN is a programme agreed by the UK’s four mobile network operators and government to extend 4G coverage to 95% of the UK’s landmass by the middle of this decade. Rural local government and businesses will have an important role to play to ensure efficient deployment and success of the scheme.