Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes MP, has welcomed the news that initial work has started to bring 4G coverage to the emergency services and constituents in areas covered by Extended Area Services (EAS) masts.
EAS is part of the Emergency Services Network (ESN), the new 4G critical communications system for Britain’s emergency services being delivered by the Home Office. Key infrastructure is being delivered through upgrades to the existing network of around 19,000 masts and building approximately 700 more 4G masts. In addition, the Home Office is supplementing this by building 292 masts to give the emergency services 4G mobile network coverage in some of the most rural and remote parts of Britain.
In Clwyd South, Extended Area Services (EAS) masts in the Ceiriog Valley, Llandrillo, and on the Welsh side of the border in Sellatyn have completed the passive build stage and are expected to go live by early 2023.
The contract for connecting all 292 EAS masts to the core network was awarded to EE in June 2022. Work to deliver transmission to EAS sites has already started. It will take approximately two years for the work to be completed and all sites are expected to be activated by the end of 2024.
Simon Baynes MP said:
“I understand from speaking to my constituents the frustration arising from the impact poor mobile coverage on some of our Clwyd South communities, particularly in our most rural areas. While the EAS programme is primarily for emergency service coverage, the EAS masts will be shared with the Shared Rural Network which is being delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) for the benefit of the wider community.
“This is fantastic news for Clwyd South and the rest of North Wales, and is a major step forwarding in eradicating mobile not-spots and hard-to-reach areas within the region once and for all. These plans will ensure that many more of us in Clwyd South can look forward to fast and reliable 4G within our homes and when out and about, and a next-generation gigabit broadband connection when at home or at work.”
For more information about the SRN programme and how it will benefit rural businesses and communities please visit https://srn.org.uk/forecast-coverage-improvements/.
