Infralink working with ‘Tay Cities’ to encourage investment in mobile infrastructure

• Four local authorities in Tay Cities Region Deal to adopt new ways of working with the mobile sector to deliver a smarter and fairer region.

• New working with Infralink will encourage investment in mobile infrastructure across the region.

• Rural and urban communities across the region benefit from engagement with mobile operators.

The four Tay Cities local authorities are working with Infralink, a national programme established by infrastructure experts, the Scottish Futures Trust, to improve engagement with mobile network operators and promote the rollout of digital connectivity. The new working relationship is being part funded by The Scotland 5G Centre.

The Tay Cities local authorities, namely Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross, are working with Infralink to encourage investment by network operators to support the next generation of communication needs. The Tay Cities Deal region is well placed to take this initiative forward with its varied urban and rural geographies, significant commercial activity and interest, and public sector initiatives such as Shared Rural Network.  This work will form a ‘blueprint’ for how other local authorities and regions can be supported to improve mobile connectivity in their area.

Infralink has built on the work of Glasgow City Council who established the Telecoms Unit last year.  The work of Glasgow City Council has resulted in increased deployment of new infrastructure, including major new fibre rollouts and small cell agreements, across Glasgow.  Standard leases and payment guidance for use across geographies in Scotland were published by Infralink in March 2021 on their website to provide landlords with a balanced starting point for discussions.

To kickstart the commitment in the Tay Cities Deal region, Infralink will facilitate regular meetings between the local authorities and industry.  The aim is to build a working relationship and enable the Tay Cities to achieve their collective goals of optimising conditions for digital infrastructure deployment.  The new working relationship will result in a more strategic coordination of supportive council policies and processes to grow digital connectivity.

Sarah Eynon, Infralink programme lead and Associate Director at Scottish Futures Trust said: “Working with the Tay Cities local authorities will allow us to demonstrate the benefits of the Infralink approach at a regional level. Infralink will work with Tay Cities and their representatives to ensure the policies, processes and documents are in places to make efficient strategic, proactive decisions that will shape the connectivity of the region. We will be encouraging the mobile industry to work with the Tay Cities authorities as an exemplar region in the UK.”

Councillor John Alexander Chair of the Tay Cities Region Deal Joint Committee, said: “We are delighted to be working with Infralink as they begin engagement with mobile operators to encourage investment and promote the ongoing rollout of cutting-edge digital connectivity across the Tay Cities region. This commitment will allow us to achieve our collective goals of creating a smarter, fairer region and will benefit urban and rural communities alike.”

Paul Coffey, CEO of The Scotland 5G Centre, added: “At the moment, there is a disconnect between network operators and landowners and bringing these two groups together is an important step in creating our next generation of communications networks. I’m delighted that these four local authorities are making the commitment to increasing mobile infrastructure and collaborating through the Infralink programme to help drive mobile connectivity and aid the development of 5G in Scotland.”