As the Chancellor prepares to deliver the Autumn Budget tomorrow, there’s a lot of talk about growth, investment and tough fiscal choices. But in the middle of that conversation sits something far more every day, human and powerful for the UK’s long-term prosperity: connectivity.
It’s the thing we barely think about until it stops working: when a GP can’t load a patient file during a home visit; when a tradesperson can’t take payment; when a delivery driver can’t find an address; when a young person can’t join an online lesson; when a new housing estate moves in and residents discover they’re living in a not-spot.
Improving the UK’s mobile networks could unlock £230bn of economic value by 2035 (according to BT Group’s report ‘Driving Growth: The £230bn Opportunity of Improved Mobile Networks’) and the benefits flow into our real lives. This is the backbone that supports everything from AI-powered logistics and smart transport systems, to drone deliveries, connected agriculture, remote healthcare and the small businesses that keep our high streets alive.
Connectivity has become a modern utility. We rely on it to work, travel, run services, stay safe and simply get through the day. And yet, the systems that enable it are still built for a different era.
At the RICS UK & Ireland Telecoms Conference 2025 last week, I spoke about why that has to change and why the planning system now matters just as much as the Budget when it comes to unlocking the UK’s digital future.
Digital infrastructure is now critical national infrastructure
The Government’s new infrastructure strategy recognises what most people already feel: connectivity is as essential as water, transport or energy. We expect it everywhere: on the school run, in the countryside, in busy stations, in new-build homes. Our national ambition is correct, but ambition alone isn’t enough.
To deliver the networks we all rely on, we need a system that supports investment. The biggest blockers today aren’t technological or financial, they are the frameworks that govern land access, planning decisions and the Electronic Communications Code.
These processes are vital… They protect landowners, communities and the public interest. But when they introduce delays or uncertainty, the outcome is always the same: slower rollout, frustrated communities and missed growth opportunities. If the UK wants digital progress, we must make digital delivery possible.
The planning system is not keeping up and our people feel it
Anyone who has moved into a new housing development with poor mobile coverage will understand the problem immediately. Connectivity is still too often thought about after the homes are built, the roads are laid and the residents have moved in. This results in higher installation costs, more disruption for neighbours, slower rollout and communities stuck without the connectivity they need to thrive.
And the use cases keep growing. Today, everything from booking a GP appointment to paying for parking to running a business from home relies on mobile connectivity. For some people, including over 1.5 million mobile-data-only households, it’s their only way online.
A digitally enabled UK needs joined-up delivery
Digital infrastructure cuts across every part of the built environment, yet responsibility for enabling it is spread across multiple parts of Government, local authorities, landowners, developers and industry. It may not be everyone’s responsibility but it surely becomes everybody’s problem.
The good news is that our interests are aligned: We all want growth, reliability, certainty, efficient delivery and infrastructure that lasts. That means bringing digital needs into planning much earlier, building shared understanding and designing solutions together rather than in isolation. When digital infrastructure is integrated upfront, just like with energy, drainage and transport, delivery becomes faster, cheaper and far less disruptive.
Partnership will define the UK’s digital future
True partnership is joint problem-solving. The Government can set the environment for investment through clear, aligned guidance and a planning system built for modern needs. Local authorities can integrate connectivity from the outset and bring consistency to decisions. Landowners can play a role in ensuring communities remain digitally included and economically active. And industry can bring the engineering expertise, long-term investment and practical experience needed to deliver the infrastructure itself. But partnership only works when the system enables it…
The Budget matters, but system reform matters too
This week’s Budget will shape tax, incentives and investment signals. Those decisions matter and they influence confidence, but the most powerful economic lever the UK can pull right now is system reform:
- modernising planning
- integrating digital needs from the start
- strengthening and clarifying how the Code operates in practice
- improving land access processes
- designing “connectivity-ready” communities,
- and aligning stakeholders behind a shared national mission.
This is how we unlock long-term growth. This is how we reach the £230bn opportunity. And this is how we build a country where connectivity simply works for everyone.
A digital-first nation needs digital-first thinking
The choices we make today will determine how competitive, inclusive and resilient the UK economy will be for decades.
We have the investment, technology and shared ambition. Now we need alignment and a planning system capable of delivering the digital future our people already expect. At Cornerstone, we’re ready to play our part…
by Belinda Fawcett, General Counsel & Director of Property & Estates
