George Osborne

release money to pay for new masts in an attempt to cover 99% of UK

George Osborne has promised £ 150m of government money to get mobile coverage to 99% in the UK, ensuring even the most remote places not to escape the song of mobile phones.

money

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which emerge from the underutilization of government department will make up to 6 million people will be able to get a signal. Mobile phone coverage is 95% in the UK, but Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland masts reaching only 90% of locations.

The money will be used to pay for new masts, with recruitment expected to start next year. Osborne hopes to improve coverage for voice calls and data connections for Internet services.

voice signals must reach rural areas by 2013, while data connections occur when the networks begin to deploy 4G spectrum. Government auctions of the airwaves is that 4G will be held next summer, with faster data networks operating in the following year, although there are fears it could be delayed.

that date, 90% of homes must have a high speed connection and 100% in the UK should have a basic connection of at least 2 megabits per second. The money will be allocated by local councils, which they hope to triple the size of the pot with matching funds by the network of manufacturers gain and public sources such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

In the auction of 4G communications watchdog OFCOM, which manages the process, he proposes to require a network operator to build the mobile broadband at least 2 megabits per seconds in remote locations to 95% of the UK population is covered.
Vodafone