What does the pledge mean?

Labour’s manifesto pledged a “renewed push” for “national 5G coverage by 2030”.

5G is the latest generation of wireless communications technology, which allows for greater speeds than previous 3G and 4G technology and greater capacity, so that more devices in a given area can be connected to fast speed internet at the same time.

There are two different ways of rolling out 5G—standalone and non-standalone. Standalone 5G networks (5G SA) are built specifically for 5G. Non-standalone networks use 5G masts and frequencies, but are built on top of the existing 4G network.

Standalone 5G technology was first made available in the UK by Vodafone in 2023, followed by O2 and EE in 2024.

The communications regulator Ofcom says standalone 5G enables lower response times, improved security and faster connection speeds on mobile devices than traditional 5G. The government says its widespread adoption could have industrial uses “in manufacturing, broadcasting, public services, transport and logistics”, and experts have suggested this could include use in self-driving cars or remote assisted surgeries, since it takes less time for data to travel across the network.

The previous Conservative government set out a target in 2023 for nationwide coverage of standalone 5G by 2030, where nationwide meant “all populated areas”, including “rural villages and communities”.

The Labour government confirmed in November 2024 that it is keeping the previous government’s target and is “aiming to have higher-quality stand-alone 5G in all populated areas by 2030”.

While Labour’s manifesto commitment is worded as a “renewed push” for 5G, ministers have been clear to pledge standalone 5G access by 2030, so that’s the benchmark we are using to assess progress.

What progress has been made?

We are currently rating this pledge as “wait and see”, as, while we know 5G SA is available across 83% of areas outside of premises in the UK, we don’t yet have enough data to identify any trends in coverage or how coverage has changed since Labour took office.

The communications regulator Ofcom published data on nationwide coverage of 5G SA for the first time in November 2025. Its report said that it’s available from at least one mobile network operator at a “High Confidence” level across 83% of areas outside of premises in the UK.

In July 2025 Ofcom said standalone 5G use on mobile phones is “currently low”, but noted that network providers were reporting increasing coverage, including EE, which said in July 2025 its standalone 5G would be available to around 50% of the population by the end of August 2025—but it’s worth noting that only customers of networks offering standalone 5G are able to access it.

The government has said that as 5G “deployment is commercially driven” it’s “critical” the UK has a “pro-investment policy and regulatory regime” to encourage the private sector to roll out this technology nationwide.

When we asked the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology what regulatory and pro-investment changes it has made to promote the 5G rollout, a spokesperson pointed to changes in the planning system and a Mobile Market Review, which will look at whether operators have the investment capacity to roll out standalone 5G more widely and how the government can assist with that.