Welcome

Welcome to your latest issue of Connected.

As part of our relationship with you, we are sending this newsletter to keep you informed of the latest developments within Cornerstone and the telecoms industry.

I’d like to start with an update on our Speed Up Britain campaign that you hopefully are aware of. For those who may be hearing this for the first time, please visit www.speedupbritain.com, which explains why we support this industry campaign regarding the Code legislation. With the campaign objective to make it easier to roll out mobile infrastructure and build better relationships between ourselves and our landlords, we are still waiting to hear from the Government on the consultation outcome.

Recently, in Parliament, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport was asked if she would review the potential effect of the 2017 Electronic Communications Code on rents paid to landowners to allow mobile masts on their land. The DCMS Minister replied:

“The provisions concerning how rents are calculated were not part of that consultation. The 2017 reforms were intended to strike a balance between ensuring individual landowners do not incur any losses and enabling the deployment of digital networks more cost-effective. It is the Government’s view that the cost of acquiring rights to install digital infrastructure prior to 2017 was too high and needed to be addressed. The pricing regime now in place is more closely aligned to those for utilities such as water and electricity and reflects the fact that access to good quality digital services is an increasingly critical part of daily life for residents across the UK.”