‘Unfair’ mast rents should be increased

The government should speed up the rollout of 5G by revisiting payments for landowners who host mobile phone masts, says a think tank.

Rules that under-compensate landowners – including farmers, churches and community groups – for hosting phone masts are slowing the 5G rollout and threatening property rights, says the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Telecom companies can force landowners to accept mobile masts in exchange for a payment. Historically, this involved mutual agreement between operators and landowners, who were fairly compensated at the market value.

But thousands of landowners have had their income slashed – in some cases by more than 90% since the Electronic Communications Code was introduced in 2017, changing the basis of land valuation and lowering compensation.“The price mechanism is a fantastically powerful tool, said IEA researcher research director James Forder.

Fair return

“It is baffling that the government seems
determined to stop it operating, thereby
depriving landowners of a fair return on their land, and slowing down 5G rollout at the same time.There is an urgent need to allow
the market to function.”

The report says the code has led to litigation, ill-will, and delays in reaching agreements. It says that valuation principles used before 2017 should be reintroduced – or other rules drafted to fairly compensate landowners and speed up the 5G rollout. 

Some politicians have welcomed the report. Desmond Swayne MP said: “The Electronic Communications Code interfered with a market that was working effectively. The government sought to reduce the market price and predictably created a shortage.

“To address the shortage that it created, the government has now delivered a system that simply bullies landowners into making their sites available at the reduced price. This is a classic example of arbitrary government.”

In response to delays, the government has since introduced the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill. But the IEA says this Bill seeks to speed up the legal process, rather than updating the formula for compensating landowners.