The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is calling on local councils to help ensure people can access better broadband and mobile connectivity.

Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman and Local Government Minister Simon Clarke have today written to local authorities setting out how they can help boost gigabit broadband rollout and 5G mobile coverage.

The ministers urge councils to follow new government advice on land access and valuations so deals granting access for new infrastructure such as 5G masts and full fibre broadband cabinets on public land can be reached quicker and with reasonable rents attached.

Central government has also shared new guidance on the safety and benefits of 5G so councils can give people the facts and tackle disinformation about this revolutionary mobile technology.

It follows a spate of attacks against digital infrastructure during lockdown and increased opposition to some local planning applications for phone masts, spurred by harmful online conspiracy theories falsely claiming a link between 5G and the spread of coronavirus.

The ministers are also asking councils to appoint a ‘digital champion’ to work across multiple teams to ensure a cohesive digital infrastructure strategy and encouraging authorities to use central government’s dedicated ‘barrier busting’ team which is charged with removing the obstacles to rollout.