Northumberland among rural areas covered as 150 4G masts go live

More than 150 government-funded 4G mast upgrades have gone live across the UK, with Northumberland among the rural areas receiving better mobile coverage. The upgrades have been delivered through the Shared Rural Network, a partnership between the UK government and mobile network operators, and bring 4G from EE, Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree to some of Britain's hardest-to-reach areas.

The programme covers areas from the Scottish Islands and Highlands to Northumberland, Cumbria, Dyfed-Powys and North Wales. The government says the additional coverage now extends across more than 5,684 square kilometres in total, and that all the upgrades have been delivered using existing infrastructure in order to protect scenic areas.

As well as helping walkers and visitors check weather and route information, share their location or contact the emergency services, the government says the coverage supports local firms running payments and bookings, keeping in touch with customers, access to online public services and working from home or on the move.

New analysis shows 42 Shared Rural Network sites have been activated across the UK's national parks: 25 in England, including seven in the Lake District and six in the Yorkshire Dales; 16 in Wales, including 12 in Eryri (Snowdonia); and one in Scotland, at Loch Lomond and The Trossachs. The Yorkshire Dales and Eryri have seen the biggest increases in coverage compared with other parks, each rising by around seven percentage points.

Ian Murray, Minister of State at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "You should be able to switch off in the countryside without being cut off from the help and services you need. These 150 masts are helping change that – giving walkers, visitors and rural communities better access to signal when they are checking a route, contacting family, running a business or calling for help."

The programme has met its target of extending 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK landmass a year ahead of schedule. It will continue until January 2027, with up to 40 further government-funded mast upgrades going live across Britain and up to 44 new publicly funded masts built in Scotland. The upgraded masts are being built by the Home Office primarily to support the new Emergency Services Network.