Mobile phone mast ‘bullies’ cutting rental payouts by up to 95%

Hundreds of community centers are threatened with closure as ‘bullying’ telecom giants cut cell tower rental payments by an estimated £209 million a year.

Churches, farms, sports clubs and charities that host masts on their land have seen their rental income fall by as much as 95 percent as a result of reforms designed to accelerate the rollout of 5G.

They had made good faith deals with telecom companies and offered space for masts in exchange for much-needed funds.

But the government later changed the law so that the highly profitable companies could retroactively change the terms of these deals and pay a fraction of the original rent.

Campaigners say the cuts threaten the future of vital community centers, while MPs warn of a ‘David vs Goliath’ battle as corporate giants dictate what they pay communities for using the land.

There are now cross-party calls for the new prime minister to review the legislation, which returns to parliament today, to protect the future of hundreds of critical hubs. Sir Desmond Swayne, Conservative MP for New Forest West, warns that the current laws are “a monstrous abolition of conservative principles”.

It comes as a Daily Mail survey reveals:

• Hundreds of community institutions could be forced to close due to ‘devastating’ rent cuts.
• Telecom company Cornerstone could save an estimated £115 million a year by cutting payments.
• A historic Victorian church is in danger of falling into disrepair after a telecom giant threatened to cut its rent, which accounts for a quarter of its annual income.
• A Wiltshire farmer has been threatened with legal action over budget cuts that could cripple his business.

Of the estimated 33,000 pylons in the UK, an estimated 13,000 are in rural areas, such as farms, and 2,500 sports and social clubs and 814 churches have been affected.

Changes to the Electronic Communications Code (ECC) in 2017 meant that the rates telcos paid to these locations were based on the value of the land to the landowner, rather than the value to the telco once a pylon is installed. The goal was to accelerate the rollout of 5G by reducing costs for mobile companies.

But the government expected a rate cut of about 40 percent, while the average was 63 percent. Some reductions even amounted to 95 percent.

It is also feared that the reforms have backfired, slowing the rollout of 5G due to an increase in lawsuits, with landowners refusing to host incongruous masts for paltry sums. Currently, 120 rental disputes are going through the land court.

‘We need money for repairs’

The Victorian church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, in Gomersal, West Yorkshire, is in danger of falling into disrepair after a telecommunications company threatened to cut rent, which accounts for a quarter of the church’s annual income.

The church, which was unable to do much of its usual fundraising during the pandemic and now struggles with rising heating bills, needs regular maintenance.

Concern: St Mary’s parishioner Susie Bell Proctor said the church relied on mast rent to pay its bills

It represents a £20,000 bill for a new porch, which parishioners hoped could be paid for by the £14,000 annual rent they received from hosting two telephone masts on the tower. But the mast operator apparently wants to cut payments to £1,000 – a 93 percent discount.

Parishioner Susie Bell Proctor, 63, said it could mean the church can’t be maintained “unless some white knights come over and save us.”

She added: ‘We have become dependent on that income and we cannot replace it. Every year we spend at least that amount on repairs.

“The telecom companies act like we’re all Rachman types trying to squeeze every cent out of it.

“They make a lot of money off us and they have only fooled MPs by saying, ‘We may not be able to roll out 5G if we can’t cut costs.’ ‘

Yet another blow comes from proposed legislation that calls for accelerated land disputes related to masts.

As the government’s Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act goes through its final stages today in the House of Lords, mast owners will bypass the land tribunal system that sets rents.

But critics believe this will only encourage telecom companies to take landowners to court, rather than reach a negotiated deal.

Research from the Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows that telecom companies are already saving an estimated £209 million a year as a result of the 2017 reforms, but this could rise to around £300 million a year if the proposed changes are implemented. implemented.

It also suggests that more than a million people could lose 5G coverage by 2025, according to the government’s latest plans.

Cornerstone owns more than half of the UK’s mast sites meaning it could save over £100million a year. It is jointly owned by Spanish telecom giant Telefonica and Vantage Towers, in which Vodafone has an 82 percent stake.

Telefonica, co-owner of mobile phone company O2, made a pre-tax profit of £774 million last year on its UK operations alone.

Sir Desmond told the Mail the government’s plan was an ‘abomination’, adding that it ‘disrupts a free market and increases opportunities for landowners’. He said it “rewards the bullying behavior of some major telecom providers by making it even harder to resist their demands.”

‘Our farm is in danger again’

Henry Edmunds has seen his telephone tower rent fall from £17,000 a year to just £950 a year

Henry Edmunds is used to big business threatening the future of his farm, Cholderton Estate in Wiltshire.

First, he gave up dairy farming after supermarkets cut prices. To survive, he had a telecom company put two masts on his land in exchange for £17,000 a year. But now Cellnex has said it can cut the rent it pays to just £950 a year – a 95 percent discount.

Mr Edmunds, 70, said he felt “bullied” by the company after it threatened legal action through the land tribunal in an attempt to force him to accept the terms.

He now fears that he will no longer be able to carry out conservation work. He said, ‘It’s nationalization – confiscation without compensation.’

Cellnex said it was offering £2,500 a year plus a £6,000 lump sum, with £950 the likely outcome if the case goes to trial.

A spokesperson said: “We have been open, honest and reasonable in our discussions, and generous in our offer.”

He added that this was “an important part of our plans to partner with local communities” to deliver 5G.

Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper says the policy had sparked a ‘David and Goliath battle’ and called on Prime Minister Liz Truss to review it.

She added: “It has left charities, community centers and volunteer groups across the country with no way to negotiate with the mobile operators.”

Patricia Hewitt, chair of the Speed ​​Up Britain campaign, which represents telecom companies, claims that prior to 2017, cell tower rents were ‘not in line with their true economic value’.

The former trade secretary said this had prevented companies from making “sensible arrangements with landowners” and delayed the rollout of 5G.

She added that the new code has brought cell tower rental rates closer to that of other utilities, but critics argue it doesn’t reflect the inconvenience a tower can cause a landowner.

A government spokesman said her reforms “allow operators to invest more in better mobile coverage, while ensuring landowners are well paid.”

He added that the new bill is “vital to reduce the number of disputes between landowners and mobile operators.”

Belinda Fawcett, Cornerstone’s general counsel and director of real estate and estates, said: “The government introduced the legislation because unsustainably high rent levels prevented the industry from rolling out infrastructure that we desperately need.”