WIREDGOV

Liz Lloyd, Minister for the Digital Economy, spoke to techUK Future Telecoms Conference 2026 on 10 February 2026.

Introduction

Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here.

My thanks to techUK for the opportunity to address you today, at a moment when the decisions we take together will shape the future of the UK’s connectivity and digital leadership.

And thanks to all of you for joining us here too. I’m looking forward to hearing from a range of sector leaders and pioneers throughout the day.

techUK’s ability to convene, to challenge and to shape policy thinking is exactly what is needed if we are to capitalise on this moment.

It’s in this spirit of collaboration that we will ensure the UK harnesses the potential of future telecoms to drive economic growth and connectivity for people across the country.

Why telecoms matters

We are living through a period of rapid technological change. From AI to the everyday services we all rely on – like online banking, digital healthcare, and smart transport systems — digital technologies are reshaping how we live, work and deliver vital public services.

But none of this is possible without the foundations that make it all work.

Digital infrastructure is the backbone of this transformation, and a resilient, future‑ready telecoms sector, able to invest in our networks, is essential if the UK is to seize the opportunities ahead.

Telecoms underpins our digital economy, is central to improving digital inclusion, enables growth, and is critical to our national security and resilience.  
With coordinated action from government and industry, widespread 5G adoption across our key sectors will bring real benefits for people everywhere.

Research commissioned by Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), for example, shows that 5G adoption across key sectors could unlock between £9–37 billion annually by 2035.

Ensuring that wherever they live, whatever their circumstances, they can benefit from the opportunities that secure, resilient and affordable digital connectivity creates.
We don’t just need accessible and affordable connections for all, but we need everyone to have the skills and confidence to make the most of these connections and become digitally included.

Mobile Market Review

Telecoms is fundamental to achieving so many of this government’s objectives. The future of these networks will enable and drive our vision for this country.

That is why this government wants the UK telecoms sector to thrive, be globally competitive, and have the confidence to invest.

Today I am pleased to launch the Mobile Market Review call for evidence.

Through this Review and the evidence that we hope you will all provide, we can ensure that we set the right conditions to unlock investment in the mobile sector – as part of an increasingly complex and interlinked ecosystem. 

Our Modern Industrial Strategy, Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy are all underpinned by investment in wireless networks. And central to this is our ambition for all populated areas to have access to standalone 5G by 2030.

Industry is making strong progress, with 83% of premises across the UK already able to access standalone 5G.

Investment challenges

But we recognise that the investment climate for mobile operators remains challenging, driven by high deployment costs and downward pressure on revenues.

We recognise that the development of 6G must go hand-in-hand with completing the rollout of standalone 5G. That’s why we want to ensure we develop 6G in a way that strengthens, rather than strains, the financial health of the sector.

At the same time, the sector is undergoing profound technological transformation. New players such as cloud providers and technology firms are reshaping how mobile services are delivered.

The pace of technological change, the scale of investment required, and the shifting market dynamics mean that government must remain proactive. Countries around the world are reviewing how their policy and regulatory frameworks can best drive investment in next‑generation networks.

If the UK is to remain internationally competitive, we must act now.

Why the call for evidence matters

The Call for evidence is an important step to ensure we fully understand how the market is changing — and what more can be done to support investment, competition, innovation, and high‑quality connectivity across the UK.

Through the Review, our aim is to drive investment in comprehensive, high‑quality connectivity through enabling reliable services for people, businesses and public services — wherever and whenever they are needed.

It also sets out our ambition to support innovation, competition and growth ensuring mobile networks can power new technologies, including AI, and fostering competition across the ecosystem to unleash value and attract further investment into the UK.

Healthy competition is critical as this will drive investment, productivity growth, innovation, and keep prices down for consumers.

What we want views and evidence on

The call for evidence seeks views on industry’s ability to invest in high‑quality, reliable connectivity, and whether our current regulatory framework – designed in a different technological era – still supports the long‑term investment and innovation the UK needs.

And it will consider whether the UK’s net neutrality framework remains fit for purpose – does it continue to support investment and innovation or is it acting as a barrier?
This is about looking at whether targeted changes are needed to ensure the rules support innovation and investment in a world of rapidly growing traffic, new technologies and more complex digital ecosystem, whilst maintaining the principle of the open internet.

The Mobile Market Review also examines how we define and measure network quality, ensuring our ambitions for nationwide high‑quality coverage are matched by the experience of consumers and businesses.

Next steps

The call for evidence will be open for 10 weeks from today, and we will set out our findings later this year.

I strongly encourage all of you to submit detailed evidence and proposals. Your insight will be critical in shaping the future of mobile connectivity in the UK.

Minister Lloyd speech at techUK Future Telecoms Conference 2026.

Further work to support digital infrastructure

Beyond mobile, we have taken significant steps to put the UK on the path to world‑class digital connectivity — and there is much more we will deliver in the months and years ahead.

Through the recent Spending Review, we committed £1.8 billion to deliver gigabit‑capable broadband to hard‑to‑reach communities through Project Gigabit.

We are committed to ensuring 99% of premises have access to gigabit coverage by 2032. Thanks to a combination of Project Gigabit and 10s of billions in private investment we are already at 86%.

And we will continue working hand‑in‑hand with industry to accelerate rollout while maintaining a stable, pro‑competition regulatory environment that supports private investment.

Our new Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecoms will set out the government’s expectations of Ofcom and provide strategic clarity for the years ahead.

Making it easier to deliver and build

We will also make it easier to deliver and build networks.
As outlined in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy by HM Treasury (HMT), we are committed to unlocking the barriers to digital infrastructure deployment.

We are making good progress in this area.  On 15 December, we made the Regulations to implement sections 61-64 (the Renewals provisions) of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.  These will come into force on 7 April this year.

We also published our consultation on legislative proposals to address broadband roll out in leasehold flats in England and Wales on the same day.  And on 18 December, we published our call for evidence on planning reform to support telecoms deployment. We look forward to receiving your responses.

Taken together, these show that we will continue to address the practical barriers that slow down deployment and add potentially unnecessary cost or complexity.

Driving up adoption and protecting consumers

Looking beyond deployment, we are undertaking an assessment of the telecoms needs of the transport, energy and water sectors and we have committed to adopt a “Digital First” approach to new infrastructure projects.

We are also taking steps to ensure connectivity works for everyone. We continue to work with industry to improve the prominence of social tariffs, which I know many of you offer to those on means tested benefits.

Supporting Innovation

We are also investing in the future. Through £370 million for the UK’s Advanced Connectivity Technology ecosystem, we are supporting a 4‑year programme of targeted R&D and strengthening the world‑class facilities needed to grow innovative UK firms in this space.

And because digital connectivity is a global endeavour, we are deepening partnerships with countries at the forefront of advanced networks — including Japan, India and the United States — while shaping the international landscape through our leadership role in the Global Coalition on Telecoms.

And our Industrial Strategy makes clear that the UK must be ready to capture the opportunities of the next generation of technologies — including 6G — ensuring the country is not just prepared for the future, but actively shaping it.

Secure and resilient networks

Telecommunications are a core pillar of the UK’s critical national infrastructure and our aim here is to ensure that our networks can withstand, respond to, and recover quickly from disruption, keeping people connected when it matters the most.

This means ensuring everyday reliability for households and businesses across the country. But it also means prepare for extraordinary events – such as a cyber-attack, a national power outage, or major disruption to subsea cables. We will continue working closely with industry, Ofcom and other stakeholders to that end.

We recently consulted on proposals to update the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice to respond to evolving technologies and emerging threats, reflecting input from industry and expert advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, we have made huge progress and have a lot to be proud about in the UK when it comes to telecoms but there is more that we can – and indeed – must do together.

As Minister for the Digital Economy, I am clear: if we want a more prosperous, innovative and inclusive UK, word class connectivity is not optional, it is essential.  

My thanks again to techUK for inviting me and I look forward to continued collaboration.

Thank you.