June 2011 (RPC PB 2011/07)

Mobile Phone Coverage in Rural Scotland

Jane Atterton*, Clare Hall** and Sarah Skerratt**
* Rural Policy Centre, SAC
** Land Economy and Environment Research Group, SAC

Key Findings
Communications infrastructure is vital for underpinning activities and wellbeing in rural
Scotland. While urban areas in the Central Belt and on the east coast generally have good
mobile phone coverage, many parts of rural Scotland have no, or very limited, coverage.
These areas are known as not-spots. Several kinds of not-spots exist, from areas with no
coverage at all, to areas where networks are available but coverage is unreliable.
The reasons for not-spots vary, but include: commercial barriers where population densities,
and therefore revenue levels, are low; physical challenges related to terrain; localised
problems within or close to buildings constructed using certain materials (e.g. stone); and
anti-mast sentiment associated with perceived health risks and/or aesthetic considerations.
Not-spots have varying impacts on those living and working in rural areas, ranging from
inconvenience and social exclusion, to potentially life-threatening scenarios. Not being easily
contactable may result in lost business or networking opportunities, individuals may face high
costs associated with having to buy additional equipment, and personal safety may be
threatened if emergency phone calls cannot be made.
Some initiatives have been put in place to reduce the negative impacts of not-spots, including:
companies sharing or disguising infrastructure; cross-network operator emergency roaming
procedures; public subsidies for rural installations; and the establishment of community
interest companies to invest in infrastructure which is leased back to mobile phone operators.
However, much more can be done. Further actions include: greater clarity regarding the
responsibility for regulating communications in Scotland; better mapping of not-spots and
better assessments of the reasons why they exist; exploration of the potential for combined
mobile phone and broadband schemes, and for
a Universal Service Obligation to establish
minimum levels of coverage; and the
establishment of a strong research and
business case for increasing public and private
investment in rural areas.

Introduction
The importance of communications infrastructure for underpinning activities and wellbeing in rural
1
Scotland cannot be under-estimated . In 2002, the Scottish Consumer Council argued that Access to
an effective communications market is an economic and social lifeline and a necessity if people are to
participate in modern society. The knowledge economy is the key to improving access to education
and employment opportunities, the delivery of services and the subsequent injection of life into local
2
economies. Having the infrastructure to make this happen, at the right time, will be crucial . However,
some areas of Scotland, including many rural communities, have limited - and in some cases, no mobile phone coverage. These areas are known as not-spots, and their existence has important
implications for the ways in which individuals conduct their work, family and social lives.
Ofcom identifies five categories of not-spot: complete not-spots (no coverage at all), gaps in 3G
3
coverage where only 2G coverage is available (i.e. mobile broadband is unavailable), not spots
affecting a specific network operator, and poor or unreliable coverage either on the move or indoors,
4
where networks are ostensibly available. Some not-spots are in urban areas but most are rural .
This Briefing firstly reviews the evidence relating to mobile phone coverage in rural Scotland, including
an exploration of the reasons why not-spots exist. Drawing on existing research and further case study
information from the Scottish Borders, the Briefing then discusses the economic and social impacts of
limited coverage for individuals, businesses and communities in rural areas. The Briefing then reviews
the ways in which policy-makers and stakeholders in the UK and elsewhere are responding to the lack
of coverage, before concluding with some recommended future actions.

Mobile phone coverage in rural Scotland: the evidence

While fixed line telephony is in decline in the UK, mobile phone ownership has grown significantly over
the last decade. In 2009, the number of fixed line telephone connections fell by 3.4% (1.1 million) to
32.1 million, while the number of mobile connections increased by nearly 5% to 80.3 million. The fall in
5
fixed lines used by businesses was nearly twice as high at 5% . However, there are variations in
mobile phone usage and in coverage levels in different parts of the UK. Ofcoms 2010 report on the
6
communications market in Scotland presents data and maps showing 2G and 3G mobile phone
coverage in comparison to other parts of the UK:
7

87% of the Scottish population lives in a postcode district with at least 90% 2G area
coverage from one or more mobile phone network providers (the equivalent figure for the UK
is 97%), thus 13% of the Scottish population has no 2G coverage; 64% of postcode districts
in Scotland are covered by one or more mobile phone networks, the lowest proportion of any
UK region; this means that the level of geographic coverage in Scotland is 23 percentage
points lower than population coverage;

Skerratt, S. et al. (2010) Rural Scotland in Focus 2010, Edinburgh: Rural Policy Centre, SAC. Available at:
http://www.sac.ac.uk/ruralpolicycentre/publs/thrivingcommunitiespublications/rsif/, accessed 14th January 2011.
2
Scottish Consumer Council (2002) reaching out: The consumer perspective on communications in Scotland, Glasgow, p. 2-3.
3
3G mobile phone technology effectively removes the distinction between mobile and broadband technologies as it supports
multimedia applications and enables people to use the internet and download large quantities of data, in addition to making calls
and texting (Commission for Rural Communities [CRC] 2010: 1). The high take-up of mobile phone services across the UK
means that delivery of broadband via mobile phones is an important tool for moving towards a universal broadband service.
4
For more information on not-spots, see Ofcom (2009) Mostly mobile: Ofcoms mobile sector assessment, London: Ofcom.
5
Ofcom (2010) Communications Market Report 2010 (August). Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-dataresearch/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr10/, accessed 10th February 2011.
6
Ofcom (2010) The Communications Market Report: Scotland. Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-dataresearch/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr10/scotland/, accessed 13th January 2010.
7
Ofcom regards a postcode district as covered if 90% of the population in that postcode can receive outdoor coverage from at
least one operator. However, the CRC (see footnote 14) notes a number of limitations with this methodology, including that
mobile services may not exist across the entire postcode (and rural postcode areas are often large) leaving localised not-spots.
The figures are therefore likely to over-estimate geographic coverage.

66% of the Scottish population lives in a

postcode district with at least 90% 3G
coverage from one or more mobile
phone networks (compared to the UK
average of 87%); 41% of postcode
districts in Scotland has 3G area
coverage from one or more mobile
phone networks (compared to 76% in
the UK overall); again this means that
the level of geographic coverage is 25
percentage points lower than population
coverage;
Scotland has the greatest geographical
area covered by complete not-spots in
the UK. 41% of mobile phone users in
Scotland claim to have regularly
experienced mobile not-spots (58%
reported that they had experienced
8
some problems ); more people in
Scotland claim to be satisfied with their
mobile phone service (96%) than the UK
average (although satisfaction is higher
in urban than rural areas at 97% and
9
93% respectively) ;
19% of households in Scotland only
have a mobile phone (i.e. no fixed line
phone connection) (21% in urban areas
and 11% in rural areas).

Figure 1: 3G operators with at least 90% area

coverage in Scotland

Source: Ofcom/GSM Association/Europa

Technologies, Q2 2010.

The Ofcom 2009 mobile phone operator coverage maps for Scotland show that the areas of Scotland
meeting minimum coverage thresholds are largely limited to the major urban areas in the Central Belt
10
and areas in the east, including Aberdeen . Large parts of the rest of the country, much of which is
11
rural, do not meet minimum coverage levels . That is not to say that there is no possibility of
making/receiving a call in these areas, nor is there any guarantee of being able to make a call in the
areas that do reach the minimum threshold. Figure 1 shows the number of 3G operators with at least
90% area coverage across Scotland.

Why do not-spots exist?

The reasons vary as to why not-spots exist - not least because there are different kinds of not-spots but include commercial, physical and technical considerations. Research undertaken by PA
12
Consulting for Ofcom in 2010 identified that most not-spots exist because it is not commercially
viable for mobile phone operators to extend their investment from areas of high population density into
areas where population density, and therefore potential revenue levels, are low.

Communications
Consumer
Panel
(2009)
Mostly
Mobile
(October).
Available
at:
http://www.communicationsconsumerpanel.org.uk/Mobile_coverage_consumer_perspective.pdf, accessed 13th January 2011.
9
Measuring levels of satisfaction is complex, however, as higher levels of satisfaction may simply reflect lower expectations of
service standard.
Source: Ofcom/GSM Association/Europa
10
For
further
maps,
see
footnote
3
or:
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/mobile-wireless1
Technologies,
Q2of2010
.
broadband/cellular/coverage_maps.pdf. This document also contains
a description
how minimum
coverage thresholds are
calculated.
11
A map of rural Scotland is available at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/09/17092437/1.
12
PA Consulting Group (2010) Not spots research. Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org/binaries/research/telecomsresearch/not-spots/PA_Consulting_main_report.pdf, accessed 14th January 2011.

Areas of low population density in Scotland also tend to have terrain that presents physical
challenges, which results in increased investment costs for both constructing and maintaining
infrastructure. It is also the case that hilly or mountainous topography limits the range and signal
13
strength of cellular masts, as can the material used for building construction, and the weather . Not all
mobile phone transmission frequencies will work well in all locations, thus, simply adding more masts
will not necessarily solve the coverage problem. Low frequencies propagate better in rural areas, but
14
this frequency band is currently limited to 2G use . A further issue in some areas is inadequate
electricity supply which means that adding new equipment is simply not possible.
Planning issues and concerns over negative visual and health impacts in some areas may limit the
construction of new (or expansion of existing) infrastructure. A survey of English parishes carried out
15
in 2010 showed that respondents perceived the main obstacles to better rural mobile coverage to be
a lack of commercial interest and anti-mast sentiment. Those travelling through rural areas may also
experience poor mobile phone coverage, both when driving and when travelling by train. In the latter
case, this may be because mobile phone operators require the cooperation and consent of track and
16
train operators to provide coverage .

The impacts of poor or absent mobile phone coverage on rural businesses and communities
The National Performance Framework sets out the Scottish Governments purpose of ...creating a
more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increasing sustainable
economic growth. The Government also calls for the creation of a wealthier and fairer Scotland
with improved equity across Scotlands people, communities and generations. The existence of mobile
phone not-spots means that some areas and individuals are at risk of being excluded from these aims.
The SNPs Manifesto for their 2011 election campaign contains a pledge to expand 3G mobile phone
coverage across Scotland through better identification of the barriers to increased coverage and how
they may be overcome. The Party also recognises the importance of rural Scotland benefiting from,
17
and participating fully in, 4G services at an early stage .
Mobile phones (and particularly 3G technology) are now often considered a necessity rather than a
lifestyle choice across nearly all aspects of life, from running a business, to social networking with
friends and family, to doing homework, and to calling the emergency services. As mobile phone
technology becomes smarter (i.e. as phones are available that offer more advanced computing ability
18
and connectivity), it can only be expected that mobile phone use will rise further . This ubiquity feeds
expectations that people can and should be contactable all of the time and wherever they are. It also
means that people expect to be able to enjoy the increasing benefits that mobile phone technology
19
has to offer . The issue of mobile phone not-spots has risen up consumer and political agendas, as
mobile phone usage has expanded. Since 2008, increasing emphasis has been given to the reasons
for, and impact of, not-spots by a number of key organisations (including Ofcom, Consumer Focus and

13

CRC (2010) Rural mobile phone coverage issues and recommendations, Cheltenham: CRC. Available at:
http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/2010/11/10/mobilecoverage/, accessed 14th January 2011.
14
See footnote 13.
15
See footnote 13.
16
Ofcom (2010) Mobile not-spots: An update on our research, Ofcom (November). Available at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk//market-data-research/telecoms-research/mobile-not-spots/not-spots, accessed 14th January
2011.
17
The manifesto is available at: http://manifesto.votesnp.com/downloads.
18
Fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband technology is embryonic in terms of its deployment in the UK, although in other
countries (e.g. Sweden), implementation via laptop dongles (rather than mobile phone devices) began in 2009. 4G allows the
streaming of high definition video on a hand-held mobile device and is in the development stage by O2 and other players in the
mobile phone industry. 4G is due to be overlaid on, or replace, 3G so it likely to be several years before rural areas gain any
benefits from this investment. This is particularly the case since early stage technology development is typically the most
expensive and thus the small customer base of rural areas is not an attractive initial target.
19
See footnote 13.

the Communications Consumer Panel). As a result of stakeholder and consumer concerns over
20
mobile phone not-spots, Ofcom designated the issue as one of its 2010-11 Annual Plan priorities .
Although the impacts will vary according to the type of not-spot, not having (reliable) coverage can
have a significant impact on individuals, beyond being inconvenienced, missing calls or social
networking opportunities or reduced business efficiency. It may result in problems dealing with
21
22
emergencies . Research undertaken on behalf of Ofcom in 2010 highlighted the importance that
consumers place on having mobile phone access to keep businesses functioning, to enable young
people to stay connected to their friends and to do homework, to do shopping, to enable those with
health conditions to access necessary support, and to allow employers to keep in touch with
employees working in remote areas.
Figure 2: Mobile not-spots in the Scottish Borders
In its Petition, Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council highlighted the lack of research into the
economic disadvantages facing rural businesses lacking mobile phone coverage. Follow-up
discussions for this Briefing with Councillor Vicky Davidson, who also spoke at the Scottish
Parliament Public Petitions Committee, raised a number of other disadvantages, including:
the dangers and inefficiencies of lone working or undertaking outdoor pursuits when an
individual cannot phone their base or the emergency services if a problem occurs or
assistance is required;
not being contactable loses or deters potential business (such as tourists) in an era when
people increasingly expect to be both permanently contactable and able to contact others;
the increasing use of text messaging for warnings or group messages, for example, by
schools and for community flood warning purposes;
the inefficiency of having to wait for deliveries as the delivery driver cannot phone ahead to
confirm a delivery time.
Daphne Jackson, who runs a tourism business in a not-spot in the Scottish Borders and who
presented the Petition to the Parliament on behalf of Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council,
explained that: The lack of mobile phone provision affects many aspects of life including business
efficiency, social connection and tourism and undermines efforts to deal with emergencies. It also
has a knock-on effect. While rising fuel prices and concern for the environment makes working at
home attractive for many in rural communities, it is not easy without mobile coverage or without
high speed broadband.

The economic impacts of poor mobile phone coverage for rural areas have also been discussed by
23
the Commission Rural Communities (CRC) which argues that lack of coverage disadvantages rural
24
areas and is causing rural economies to fall behind their urban counterparts . Similar issues were
also raised in a representation from the Scottish Borders to the Scottish Parliaments Public Petitions
25
Committee in November 2010 (see Figure 2) and the 2010 CRC survey of English parishes. The
latter also raised the issue of the additional costs for individuals experiencing poor mobile phone

20

Ofcom (2010) Annual Plan 2010/11, Available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/annual-reports-and-plans/annualplans/annual-plan-2010-11/, accessed 13th January 2011.
21
See footnote 13.
22
Illuminas
(2010)
Not-spots
research

qualitative
research
report.
Available
at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org/binaries/research/telec,oms-research/not-spots/illuminas_final_report.pdf, accessed 14th January
2010. See also Ofcoms 2010 update report for more information (footnote 17).
23
CRC (2009) Mind the Gap: Digital England a rural perspective, CRC: Cheltenham. Available at:
http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/digital-inclusion/, accessed 13th January 2011.
24
See footnote 13 and also: CRC (2010) Agenda for Change: Releasing the economic potential of Englands rural areas, CRC
(September). Available at: http://ruralcommunities.gov.uk/2010/09/07/agenda-for-change/, accessed 13th January 2011.
25
BBC News South of Scotland (2010) Scottish Borders rural mobile not spot plea made, Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-11725113, accessed 9th December 2010.

coverage, such as for domestic booster boxes, maintaining a landline and changing networks to
26
ensure coverage .
How have stakeholders responded to the challenge of not-spots?
Some actions have been taken by stakeholder organisations to try and reduce the extent of not-spots
and to mitigate their most serious impacts in instances where they cannot be avoided. This section
briefly discusses some actions taken by stakeholders in the UK, before giving details of approaches
used in other countries.
In instances where a not-spot has resulted from anti-mast sentiment (perhaps due to visual
concerns) there may be ways to eliminate such concerns. One approach which is already in
use by operators is to share (e.g. through operator partnerships) or disguise masts and
infrastructure, including base-stations. Sharing can also reduce costs and result in investment
in some not-spots that might otherwise have remained without coverage. Planning restrictions
and aesthetic considerations may be especially pertinent in designated landscape areas, such
27
as National Parks, but in the research undertaken for Ofcom , the Country Land and
Business Association said that its members were aware of the multiple benefits of mobile
phone coverage so may not be averse to additional masts on their land.
Ofcom notes the recent joint effort it has made with mobile phone network operators, the
emergency services authorities and the fixed-line operators who act as call handling agents, to
put in place new emergency roaming procedures. These allow mobile phone users to call the
emergency services using another mobile network operator (providing one exists) if their own
service provider does not offer coverage.
In Tregaron (in Ceredigion, Wales) a community interest company has been established to put
up its own masts and lease them back to phone companies which have not invested in the
area. The group will apply for a grant to put up the first mast, and income from the leases will
28
help to pay for the maintenance and day-to-day running costs of the masts .
In France and Norway a holistic view of mobile phone ovide mechanisms for subsidising
network operator costs in remote areas. In Norway there is a scheme to fund installations
29
where the revenue-based business case is insufficient to justify investment . In France there
is a scheme whereby co-funded projects (involving operators, central government and local
councils) were established to meet the costs of infrastructure and preparatory surveys in notspots. Evidence suggests that these have been successful in reducing not-spots in these
countries. Whilst there are some examples of similar projects in the UK (e.g. in the late 1990s
involving O2 in the Highlands and Islands) there are obstacles preventing such initiatives from
happening, including poor public understanding of communications technology and a lack of
30
engagement between rural communities and network operators .
Operators in Australia and Finland have successfully rolled-out 3G in the low frequency
31
900MHz band (usually limited to 2G) to extend 3G coverage into rural areas .
In the USA, one operator is recruiting local companies to collaboratively build and operate
high speed, mobile broadband networks across the countryside within the 700MHz band. This
kind of solution provides an integrated mobile phone and broadband solution and also
32
generates rural employment .

26

See footnote 13 for more information.

See footnote 12.
28
BBC News (2010) Remote villages in Ceredigion plan to build phone masts. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukwales-mid-wales-11141987, accessed 10th February 2011.
29
See footnote 13.
30
See footnote 13.
31
Ofcom
(2009)
Mostly
Mobile:
Ofcoms
mobile
sector
assessment
(July).
Available
at:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/msa/, accessed 10th February 2011.
32
See footnote 13.
27

What more needs to be done to improve the mobile phone not-spot situation?
Despite some actions to address the existence of not-spots, more needs to be done to reduce the
negative impacts they have on the lives on those living and working in rural areas. This final section of
33
the Briefing provides recommendations for actions that need to be taken in Scotland .
Clarity regarding who is responsible for regulating communications in Scotland: The
regulation of communications is not devolved from the UK Government to Holyrood, and it
may be that stated UK priorities and objectives may not fully address issues specific to
Scotland. However, digital inclusion plays an important part in the remit of the Scottish
34
Government and Scottish Parliament , particularly in relation to the social inclusion agenda
and the regeneration and economic development of rural and island communities.
Communications is thus a good example of a situation where the regulatory responsibilities at
UK level overlap with important areas of social, economic and environmental policy-making
35
which are devolved, and which are (in some cases) very different in different parts of the UK .
Better mapping of not-spots: A better system of mapping and measuring not-spots using
land area (and including information on settlements and road networks, for example) rather
than population would provide a clearer indication of where improvements need to be made in
coverage.
Further assessment of why not-spots exist: Further work is required to assess whether
and where there are insurmountable infrastructural barriers to reducing the extent of not-spots,
or conversely, whether it is simply a matter of time before affordable, reliable access is
36
realisable universally . As commercial considerations are an important cause of not-spots,
some (particularly 3G not-spots, partial not-spots and indoor coverage problems) may be
reduced in scale as a result of technological and market developments, such as through
femtocells (domestic booster boxes) and greater user of Wi-Fi. Vodafone has also recently
launched a Sure Signal device which ensures mobile phone coverage when this would
otherwise be poor, providing there is a 3G phone or internet dongle and a fixed line
broadband speed of at least 1mb. Nevertheless, Ofcom notes that some not-spots particularly complete not-spots, which mostly occur in
rural areas - will persist to some degree, even if
operators continue to expand their 3G coverage
(perhaps beyond current 2G coverage although it is
37
unlikely that 3G will exceed the footprint of 2G) .
Building a strong research case for public and
private investment in rural areas: Present and future
rural needs and opportunities (e.g. tele-health and telecare) need to be captured and quantified through further
research work which will help to establish the need for
investment in communications infrastructure. If private
investment is not forthcoming, there may be a case for
exploring the rationale for public subsidies in rural
38
areas . Further independent research is also required
on the health impacts of mobile phone infrastructure,
with the results widely disseminated to improve public
understanding of the issues.

33

This section draws on the recommendations also outlined in the CRC report (2010, see footnote 13) and in discussions with
Daphne Jackson from Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council who spoke at the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee.
34
See for example the Scottish Governments March 2011 Digital Strategy, available at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/04162416/0.
35
See footnote 2.
36
See footnote 1 (p. 40).
37
See footnote 13.
38
See footnote 22.

Ensuring that communications is integral to all planning

applications: Information is now considered to be the fourth
utility, and as a result, the CRC argues that it makes sense to
prioritise communications infrastructure in all planning
decisions. This includes the use of provisions in under
Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act
1997, which give local authorities the potential to embed
mobile phone and broadband connectivity into their strategic
planning for new housing and industrial developments.
Exploring the potential for private mobile phone
networks: These are currently used by large companies as a
mobile equivalent of an in-house system, using smaller
infrastructure. These could be run as a local/regional
business or community interest company but would probably
require start-up funding.
Using operators 2G spectrum to carry 3G services: This
is likely to bring significant benefits including faster mobile broadband speeds, improved
indoor coverage, and wider mobile phone coverage in rural areas, and it would address
capacity issues and the additional demands that 3G expansion is putting on the spectrum
currently allocated to 3G use. Ofcom has recently advised the Government that mobile phone
operators should be able to use their 2G spectrum to carry 3G services.
Using emergency services infrastructure and frequencies for mobile phone coverage:
further exploration is needed of the potential to use the network of emergency service masts
and frequencies to provide public mobile phone coverage, in particular to dial 999 in an
emergency situation, without compromising the privacy and efficiency of the emergency
services.
Exploring the potential for integrated community mobile phone/broadband schemes:
Community broadband schemes are taking off with funding available, and there is great
39
potential to explore integrated mobile phone/broadband models . The CRC argues that
40
mobile and broadband technologies should be planned collectively and strategically .
Exploring the potential for a mobile phone Universal Service Obligation (USO): This
would require a minimum level of coverage and should go some way towards helping bridge
the coverage and equity gap between urban and rural areas. It would promote digital
communications to utility status and help to contribute to a culture shift amongst operators that
ubiquitous coverage is desirable and adds value to their brand.
Ensuring that Ofcom continues to engage with Government and other stakeholders:
There is an important role for Ofcom to engage with, and influence, wider public policy
debates as a result of the reliance society now places on mobile phones, and to continue to
further develop our understanding of the issue and the extent of information available. The
Digital Economy Act 2010 gives Ofcom a new duty to report to the Secretary of State every
three years on the UKs communications infrastructure, and this could be used as an
influencing tool to promote the role of mobile coverage in allowing people to participate in
society on digital inclusion grounds.
For more information on the Rural Policy Centre please contact:
Dr Jane Atterton, Researcher, Rural Policy Centre, SAC, Kings Buildings, West Mains Road,
EDINBURGH, EH9 3JG. T: 0131 5354256; E: jane.atterton@sac.ac.uk; W:
www.sac.ac.uk/ruralpolicycentre

39
40

See footnote 1 for some examples of rural community broadband schemes in Scotland.
See footnote 13.