Britain is at risk of mobile signal rationing as network operators warn soaring energy prices triggered by the war in Iran could force them to implement energy saving measures. The Telegraph has more.
Telecoms giants including VodafoneThree, Virgin Media O2 and BT-owned EE have issued a stark warning to the Government over energy costs after being excluded from Rachel Reeves’s support scheme.
Some companies are understood to be drawing up contingency plans as they grapple with heightened power costs.
These include rationing access to their networks or slowing down speeds to help reduce energy use. Another option is surge pricing, which would charge customers an additional fee at peak times.
Mobile phone services such as calls and internet data could be the worst affected, although broadband could also be hit.
Bosses warned that rising energy costs could also force the companies to scale back plans to expand their 5G networks, resulting in jobs either being cut or moved offshore.
In response to the threat, a Government spokesman said mobile network operators are required by law to maintain connectivity.
Industry executives are frustrated at Labour’s decision to exclude telecoms companies from a recent support package aimed at shielding businesses from soaring energy costs.
The Chancellor unveiled plans to cut electricity bills for 10,000 manufacturers by up to 25% under the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) last week, though the measures will not come into effect until April 2027.
Telecoms companies believe their sector warrants support as an operator of critical national infrastructure.
One source branded it a “serious oversight”, adding that it raised questions about which parts of the economy the Government was prioritising.
Mobile networks are highly energy-intensive, consuming just under 1 terawatt-hour of electricity each year. That is the equivalent of powering 370,000 homes a year.
Operators hedge their energy costs to help weather price spikes.
However, prices have still increased by 70% in recent years as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial trade artery that transports a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
The price of electricity is mostly set by gas, which has risen by 33% since the start of the war in Iran.
Telecoms bosses argue the sector is disproportionately exposed to the crisis due to the “always on” nature of mobile networks, meaning they are unable to shift demand to cheaper, off-peak times.
Any move to ration or slow down access to mobile signals, which is understood to be a worst-case scenario, would be a major blow to Britons already frustrated by patchy coverage. The UK ranks bottom of the G7 for 5G download speeds.
Worth reading in full.
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Well I’m lucky to get a mobile signal at all where I live and good 4G would be a luxury.
Maybe we should see this as an opportunity. Let’s ban jibber jabber on the phone on public transport and in public places..ahh to have peace reign again. 🙂
Probably won’t notice on Vodagroan…
A good lesson on how corporations blackmail governments into giving them subsidies.
Let’s see, who is going to get shafted here, who isn’t at the table? Oh yeah, the ordinary taxpayer.
Just a minute. Porkie-pie alert!
Isn’t it a remarkable coincidence that everything suddenly is being blamed on the Iran war: inflation rate; poor economic performance; electricity prices? I smell a conspiracy rat.
So I’m calling Bovine fæces on this. I wonder what the real reason for this claim is?
Mobile phone networks use electricity.
“… The price of electricity is mostly set by gas…”
This is repeating the Mad Minibrain lies. No it isn’t! The wholesale market price is set 90% of the time by gas, but the actual price to the consumer is set by the plethora of subsidies and (CfD) contracted above wholesale market rates for wind/solar.
For example: the current wholesale price for gas electricity is £70 per MWh, but wind companies supplying at that price under the recent Contract for Difference are guaranteed £128 per MWh, so they receive an extra £58 from NESO (grid operator) which is passed on to consumers in the retail prices.
Gas power supplies one-third of UK electricity. 45% of our gas is from the North Sea and is unaffected by Iran war, most of the rest is LNG from the USA, which although volatile recently, price has… Read more »
But I suppose wireless 5G surveillance cameras operated by councils and the like will get preferential service, of course.
I hope this does happen. It’ll bring home what life will be like with Net Zero, with rationing of everything from telecoms, energy to food. And all in the cause of virtue signalling by the millionaire socialists.
“Industry executives are frustrated at Labour’s decision to exclude telecoms companies from a recent support package aimed at shielding businesses from soaring energy costs.”
Well they should have been piping up since we started on the road to expensive unreliable often foreign energy, decades ago. Right now they are just asking for taxpayer money.
So it about gimme. It’s really about “support packages” ie subsidies using money plundered from the taxpayer to put in the pockets of shareholders.
I’m shocked.
Really biased reporting re energy costs of gas rising ‘since the war started’, yes but bulk gas price very low historically but then has subsidies added to it.