Vodafone and Three customers visiting, living or working in hundreds of rural and remote locations across the UK are enjoying faster and more reliable mobile data speeds, as well as better-quality voice calls thanks to the Shared Rural Network.
This includes customers receiving their coverage from 100 mobile network sites which have been upgraded to deliver 4G coverage from all the mobile network operators, as part of the government-funded element of the programme announced this week.
A joint initiative between the mobile industry, Ofcom and UK Government, the Shared Rural Network programme was announced in 2019 with the aim of increasing UK operators’ 4G coverage in rural areas, closing the digital divide between urban and rural communities and boosting economic growth.
In June 2020, Vodafone announced that Devauden, a small village in the Wye Valley, had become the first community to receive improved mobile coverage as part of the programme.
The SRN programme is one of a number of VodafoneThree projects which focus on improving coverage in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
Others include the recent upgrade of sites so that Vodafone and Three customers can connect to the best available coverage – whether that’s on the Vodafone or Three network – at no extra cost. VodafoneThree has also pledged to provide 5G Standalone (5G SA) to 99% of the UK population by 2030, growing to 99.96% by 2034.
Andrea Donà, Chief Network Officer, VodafoneThree said “The SRN initiative has been a game changer for rural connectivity since we went live with the first location back in 2020, and it remains an important programme for us, supporting our commitment to bring strong and reliable coverage to all our customers.
“Alongside our programmes, such as our recent site upgrades and our ongoing investment in the rollout of 5G Standalone, we are ensuring everyone has access to the connectivity they rely on – whatever their postcode – while also ultimately supercharging rural communities across the UK.”
