Welsh farmers say mobile mast rent cuts threaten rural signal

Farmers in Wales are warning that deep cuts to mobile mast rents could leave rural communities with worse phone coverage as landowners reconsider hosting telecoms infrastructure.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said falling payments and increasingly costly negotiations risk discouraging farmers from providing sites for mobile masts.

The warning comes as nearly a quarter of Wales still lacks 4G coverage from every mobile network operator, leaving many rural communities dependent on infrastructure hosted by farmers and other landowners.

Radnorshire sheep farmer Alan Watson is among those affected.

Watson has hosted a mobile mast on his farm for more than 20 years, but said his annual rent has been cut from £5,000 to £2,500.

Finalising his latest agreement also cost him more than £5,000 in professional fees — more than two years’ rent at the new rate.

“I've hosted a mast on my farm for more than 20 years and I've always been happy to do my bit to support better mobile connectivity in the local area. But changes to the system have seen my rent cut in half, from £5,000 to £2,500, while dealing with the telecoms companies has become a nightmare.”

He said the cost and complexity of reaching agreements could deter landowners from hosting infrastructure in future.

“When I tried to get my agreement finalised, the process ended up costing me more than £5,000. It feels like landowners trying to do their bit are being bullied into accepting worse terms - putting people off hosting the infrastructure the country needs.”

At the centre of the dispute are changes made to the Electronic Communications Code in 2017, which governs agreements between telecoms operators and landowners hosting their infrastructure.

The reforms changed how rents are calculated in an effort to reduce the cost of deploying mobile infrastructure.

However, landowners argue the changes have driven down payments by as much as 90% in some cases and made negotiations more adversarial.

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales has also raised concerns about the impact of the current system.

It said: “Perversely, the Electronic Communications Code (ECC) which was designed to help operators secure the sites they need has reduced rental payments to landlords and removed the incentive to host mobile operators.”

The commission has also warned that existing sites could come under pressure, including in Cardiff and Swansea, where Notices to Quit have become a growing concern.

The number of telecoms infrastructure disputes reaching the courts has risen sharply since the reforms were introduced.

More than 1,000 disputes have gone to court since the changes, compared with just 33 during the previous three decades.

Tim Faire, chair of the FUW Land Use and Climate Change Committee, said farmers had supported rural connectivity for decades but could not be expected to continue under increasingly unfavourable terms.

“Farmers across Wales have hosted mobile masts in good faith for decades, helping to keep rural communities connected. But they cannot be expected to continue doing so while rents are slashed and reaching agreements becomes increasingly costly and difficult.”

Faire said the policy framework needed to encourage cooperation between operators and landowners at a time when rural communities still face gaps in mobile coverage.

“At a time when too many rural communities still struggle with poor mobile coverage, we need a policy framework that treats farmers fairly and encourages landowners and operators to work together, rather than driving them further apart.”

Watson also called for changes to the system, warning that landowners were being discouraged from supporting future infrastructure.

“The Government seems blind to what is happening to landowners across the country. If we genuinely want to improve mobile connectivity, we need a system that encourages cooperation between landowners and operators, rather than driving them further apart.”

The issue has gained further significance following changes introduced this year under the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act.

Those changes extended parts of the post-2017 framework to thousands more existing agreements.

Campaigners are now calling on the Government to review whether the current telecoms framework is delivering the investment and cooperation needed to improve mobile coverage, particularly in rural areas.

The central concern is whether a system designed to make mobile infrastructure easier to deploy is instead weakening the incentive for farmers and other landowners to host the sites rural communities rely on.