Streamlined planning system a must to speed up rollout of 4G services, expert says

Suzanne Gill of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that current planning policy had resulted in network operators installing many smaller masts, which do not need planning permission, instead of a smaller number of taller masts. However, there would be no getting around the need for taller masts if two operators planned to share one of the new, faster networks, she said.

"At the moment, masts under 15 metres high do not need planning permission – however, if two operators are going to share a network then the mast needs to be taller than that," she said. "In addition, certain local authorities block mast applications on principle, which leads to telecoms companies ending up going to appeal every time. An exemption from planning permission for taller masts could go some way towards unlocking sites in these areas."

Gill was speaking as talks between the telecoms industry and Ofcom intended to stem the threat of legal action from rivals in relation to the announcement last month that Everything Everywhere (EE) would be able to launch a 4G network using existing spectrum, ahead of the auction process, entered their final week. According to press reports, streamlining the planning system to allow for the faster rollout of mobile masts is one of the issues being considered alongside speeding up the auction for 4G.

Ofcom announced in August that it would allow EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, to use its existing network to deliver 4G services to its customers. The regulator is not due to auction off frequency spectrum that would enable EE's competitors to offer 4G services until next year.

A report in the Guardian last month claimed that rival network O2 had written to the regulator to announce its intention to appeal the decision to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, however an O2 spokesman later told Out-Law.com that the company would not comment on the issue. O2 was among a number of networks to express its concern with Ofcom's decision, saying in a statement that it "[undermined] the competitive environment for 4G in the UK" and meant that "the majority of consumers [would] be excluded from the first wave of digital services".

The term '4G' is generally used to refer to mobile broadband services delivered using the next generation of mobile broadband technologies, including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and WiMAC. LTE technical standards make more efficient use of radio spectrum, which makes them ideally suited for the high bandwidth data services including video streaming, social networking and GPS and mapping services used by smartphones and laptops.

Mobile phone companies were first awarded varying amounts of spectrum at 900MHz and 1,800MHz in the 1990s on the condition that this could only be used for 2G services, mainly voice calls and text messages. In 2011, Ofcom ruled that this could also be used for 3G services as part of its plans to "liberalise" spectrum use for the benefit of consumers. Its response to EE's application was its first decision on the use of the spectrum for 4G services.

Additional spectrum is due to be released as part of an auction process in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands later this year, a combination of high and low frequencies which the regulator has claimed will enable operators to offer widespread mobile coverage at faster speeds. This additional capacity will, according to Ofcom, enable other operators to launch "competing services" from next year.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said earlier this month that the Government planned to remove existing "red tape" the places restrictions on the installation of overhead broadband lines, as well as other "unnecessary bureaucracy in the planning system", as part of a drive to improve the UK's broadband infrastructure and meet its pledge of ensuring the UK has the fastest broadband services in Europe by 2015. If the changes go ahead, telecoms firms will not need the approval of local communities in order to install new overhead equipment; however DCMS said that it would encourage companies to "enter into a dialogue" with communities on the siting of lines "as a matter of good practice".