Mobile coverage, technical and planning advice

Ofcom has published advice on masts and planning. This describes UK policy for the siting of masts, with links to further information, relevant legislation and other sources of advice.

Ofcom has published advice on cellular coverage.

Technical and planning enquiries

You should speak to the relevant mobile network operator if you wish to:

• report construction, utility or other engineering works that may either affect or require access to a site;
• report a service outage or loss of coverage in a given area;
• report damage, noise or alarms at a site;
• contact an operator regarding site access, ownership or lease issues;
• request sharing an operator’s site by another communications service;
• make an enquiry on behalf of a local planning authority.

The trade association MobileUK is a central contact point for enquiries to the industry. Its code of practice on mobile network development includes operator contact points (see Appendix G) for mast enquiries.

Ofcom has been carrying out electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements near mobile phone base stations for many years. These published measurements have consistently shown that EMF levels are well within the general public EMF limits. We also provide a service where individuals can request Ofcom carry out EMF measurements near mobile base stations. This is a chargeable service.

More information on Ofcom’s approach to electromagnetic fields (EMF) is available on our website.

If you have not found the information you need, you can contact us by phone on 0300 123 3333 or 020 7981 3040. We are open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm.