Department for Business and Trade written question – answered at on 14 July 2026.
Aphra Brandreth
Conservative, Chester South and Eddisbury
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken an analysis of the mobile connectivity and 5G network infrastructure requirements of the eight sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy.
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government’s approach to 5G and mobile connectivity is set out in the ‘UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Plan’ on GOV.UK. The government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have standalone 5G by 2030, delivered through commercial investment. The Digital & Technologies Sector Plan (GOV.UK) outlines the Industrial Strategy’s approach to 5G and Advanced Connectivity Technologies. We have already begun to invest in ACT, with over £300 million spent since 2022 to promote R&D through the Open Networks Programme and Technology Missions Fund.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
