The Scottish Borders has seen the installation of 12 new Extended Area Services (EAS) masts. The masts have been installed as part of an upgrade to the emergency services’ communications system. This is especially important for rural communities where network coverage can be poor, and police, fire and ambulance services can have difficulties sharing information. The upgrade is aimed at addressing these issues. They have been delivered by the Home Office, in partnership with the mobile network provider EE.
Nine more masts are being planned for the area. These are due to be completed by the end of 2022.
The new EAS masts will enable the Emergency Services Network (ESN) to deliver a faster and more effective critical communications system on 4G to replace the current system.
The Borders stands to gain much from the work of the Home Office in delivering the EAS masts. They will provide rural Emergency services with a more reliable communications system, whilst forming part of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) which is being delivered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
SRN is a partnership between UK Government and industry to deliver on the manifesto commitment of increasing mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by 2026. Through the SRN programme, The UK Government will fund upgrades to the Home Office EAS sites, to enable Mobile Network Operators to provide commercial mobile coverage from these sites.
Commenting, Conservative MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk John Lamont said:
“This is great news for our emergency services. They have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep us safe and have saved countless lives in the process. Whilst the SNP Government has presided over a crisis in the Scottish Ambulance Service, the UK Government is focussed on upgrading their communications system.
“This upgrade will improve their ability to communicate effectively, and ensure that they can receive the information they need wherever they may be. This is especially important for rural communities, where emergency services may struggle to receive information from their colleagues.
“The installation of 12 EAS masts, with another 9 due to be completed in the coming year, is yet another example of the UK Government delivering for Scotland.
“Not only will the masts allow our emergency services to work more effectively here in the Borders, but it also lays the foundations for much improved mobile network coverage in rural areas.”
