Key plans being consulted on have sparked concern from experts

Labour’s stance on key legislation had caused concern (Image: Getty)

UK landowners are reportedly losing more than £200million a year because of a Labour U-turn, as churches and hospitals are hit. In 2022, Sir Keir Starmer‘s Leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, warned that the then Conservative government’s plan to introduce broadband improvements and 5G would be “likely to slow down, rather than speed up” the roll-out. She also said that community groups hosting mobile infrastructure would be “between a rock and a hard place” as they faced “dramatically reduced rents” while being “forbidden in law from taking down” masts.

But telecoms minister Chris Bryant confirmed last year that the government plans to implement “the remaining telecoms provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 as soon as possible”, and, earlier this month, a consultation was launched into commencing sections 61 to 64 of the Act. In 2017, ministers changed the law through the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), hoping to speed up mobile rollout by cutting costs for operators.

The government is aiming to boost connectivity (Image: Getty)

But critics have suggested that this has impacted landowners who are no longer paid market rents, as companies are allowed to offer “no-scheme” payments instead.

This has seen rents drop. In 2022, the MailOnline reported that St Mary the Blessed Virgin Church, in Gomersal, West Yorkshire saw their rent slashed from £14,000 to £1,000 – a 93% cut.

2024 analysis published by The Social Market Foundation and supported by APWireless, stated that the government’s changes “ignored the Law Commission’s 2013 recommendation to allow the market primacy in determining appropriate rents”.

It added: “One outcome of the reform has been a dramatic fall in the rents that providers of land can now obtain. One analysis suggested those supplying land for mobile infrastructure may have lost £209 million a year in income.

“This has led to a substantial deterioration in the relations between some landowners and infrastructure providers (i.e. MNOs and WIPs). This effect has been observed by a number of organisations such as the Law Society of England and Wales, and acknowledged by the previous government.”

It has been claimed that current plans would extend the ECC model to 15,000 more sites, including long-standing contracts signed under previous rules.

If approved, it is feared that telecoms companies would be able to override existing rental agreements, impose retrospective rent cuts without compensation and apply to court to force through terms, even mid-contract.

The Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber Telecommunications User Group said in 2023 that cases were “likely to double” as a result of the provisions coming into force.

The government is aiming for nationwide coverage of higher quality standalone 5G by 2030 by at least one operator.

The availability of standalone and non-standalone 5G outside UK premises has risen from 69% in May 2022 to 96% in January 2025 from at least one mobile network operator, according to Ofcom data from its Connected Nations Spring update.

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spokesperson said: “The facts of this Government’s approach towards 5G rollout speak for themselves.

“5G is now available outside 96% of premises across the UK, improving everyday services for millions of people.

“Our priority is to continue delivering high quality 5G networks critical to boosting local growth and improving public services across the UK, as part of our Plan for Change.”