How Vodafone is closing digital divide with 5G in the UK

A new study of Britain’s most deprived communities has revealed a stark digital divide between rural and urban areas. The report, ‘Connecting the Countryside’, which has been commissioned by Vodafone UK with analysis carried out by WPI Economics, found nearly half (46%) of rural deprived areas are classed as 5G not spots, whereas the same can only be said for 2.7% of urban, deprived communities.

The study identified five areas of Britain as performing particularly poorly when it comes to a lack of connectivity and high levels of deprivation – Scotland, Wales, East Anglia, Cumbria and the South-West. Over half (53.8%) of the rural constituencies in Wales are total 5G not spots.

This means almost a million (838,000) people living in deprived rural areas are losing out on the benefits that 5G could provide – from better access to healthcare to more educational opportunities. Improved connectivity, through investment in digital infrastructure, will help these communities not only today, but also tomorrow as those living in not spots simply won’t learn the digital skills they need for the future.

Benefits of 5G to these deprived rural communities include:

Transformative health benefits with fast 5G infrastructure offering the ability to pre-empt and react to health emergencies, crucial in hard-to-reach areas.

Better access to healthcare, with rural communities often inaccessible medicines can take up to 36 hours to be delivered; with 5G and Vodafone’s Skyport drone programme they can be delivered in just 15 minutes.

In rural areas, virtual classrooms could open distance learning opportunities and specialist qualifications – vastly increasing the opportunities available to people.

In agricultural areas, 5G enabled sensors can provide data that makes higher yields and better crop quality (tests have shown efficiency improvements of 15%).

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer at Vodafone UK, said: “We believe everyone should have access to connectivity and our research shows the alarming rate at which almost a million people living in deprived rural communities are being left behind. It’s clear we need to accelerate the roll-out of the UK’s 5G infrastructure, which is what we commit to do as part of our proposed merger with Three UK. We would close the rural digital divide by delivering 95% 5G Standalone geographic coverage by 2034.”

Merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK to create one of Europe's leading 5G networks

Vodafone Group and CH Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Ltd., owner of Three UK, have agreed to combine their UK businesses.

Simon Fell, Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness and Rural Connectivity Champion, said: “New research published today lays bare the challenge we face to bring connectivity to our most deprived rural communities to match the rest of the country, and to ensure that millions of people are not left out from the future innovations that 5G can provide. We need to deliver ‘nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030, ensuring that we can bring its full benefits to villages and rural communities well beyond cities and towns’ as set out in the Government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy. Some of these innovations are already a reality, and simply need connectivity as the final piece of the puzzle.”

“Whether it be in agriculture, with 5G-enabled sensors measuring soil quality and crop health, or in healthcare with virtual wards, 5G can bring tangible improvements to productivity, efficiency and quality of life.”

Vodafone has been tackling the digital divide, rolling out 4G via one of the largest investment programmes in the industry’s history. As well as geographic access to infrastructure, there are many reasons why people become digitally excluded which is why Vodafone has also committed to helping 4 million people and businesses cross the digital divide by 2025 as part of its everyone.connected programme, which supplies connectivity, devices and skills to those in need.