campaign updates
Get the latest from Protect & Connect
From news stories to campaign developments, get all the latest – and sign up below to join the email list so you never miss an update
Campaign feature on BBC South Today
10th March 2021
BBC SOUTH TODAY
BBC South Today’s feature on our campaign includes an interview with the Secretary of Aylesbury Rugby Club, Derek Spence. You can watch the full piece at this link, beginning at 3 minutes 50 seconds.
Aylesbury Rugby Club accuse EE of 'bullying' after telecoms giant slashes mast rent by thousands
8th MARCH 2021
THE BUCKS HERALD
Aylesbury Rugby Club is campaigning for a change in the law after mobile phone giant EE arbitrarily told the club it was slashing the rent it pays for a phone mast on the club’s ground from £6,000 a year to just £750.
Landowners 'bullied' by telecoms firms
8th MARCH 2021
FARMER'S GUARDIAN
Farmers have seen their income from telecoms masts slashed by up to 90 per cent since 2017
Campaign interview on BBC Three Counties Radio
2nd MARCH 2021
BBC Three Counties
BBC Three Counties Radio spoke to the Secretary and Club Chairman of Aylesbury Rugby Club, Derek Spence and Paul Milham as well as our campaign chair Anna Turley. You can hear the full interviews at this link, tune in at 1.08 to hear Anna Turley and Derek Spence, and at 2.14 to hear Paul Milham.
Protect and Connect wants to help landowners with telecoms mast sites
28th FEBRUARY 2021
THE SCOTTISH FARMER
A NEW campaign group has been launched to demand a fair deal for the people and companies whose property is used by telecoms companies – some of whom now face rent cuts of up to 90%.
Full Article
Landowners accuse 'bullying' telecoms firms of using loophole to slash rent paid for phone masts - with one saying he was offered £250 rent by EE instead of the usual £6,000 for space at a rugby club
28th FEBRUARY 2021
MAIL ON SUNDAY
Mobile phone giants have been accused of leaving small landowners thousands of pounds out of pocket by using a loophole to dramatically reduce their rents for phone masts.
Full Article
Farmers demand phone masts fair deal after 90% rent cuts
25th FEBRUARY 2021
FARMERS WEEKLY
Farmers are demanding a review of a code of practice that is forcing down the rents they are paid for telecoms masts on their land.
Since 2017, the Electronic Communications Code has given telecoms companies and infrastructure providers the framework to force rent reductions on masts of up to 90%, says the Protect & Connect lobby group.
Full Article
Landowners fight back over phone masts after 90pc rent cuts
18th February 2021
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Landowners are launching a campaign against phone firms after being forced to accept rent cuts of 90pc or more for mobile masts on their properties.
The Protect & Connect lobby group is seeking to reform a 2017 law which slashed the amount landlords are paid in a bid to make it cheaper for phone firms to set masts up, with the aim of improving patchy signal in rural areas.
At least 25,000 small site owners have been stung by the cuts including cricket clubs, churches and farmers, campaigners said.
Ministers are now consulting on changes to the law, with internet access campaigners calling for it be tightened up so that rents fall again and mobile internet reach is further expanded. Protect & Connect is seeking changes which will restore some of landlords' lost profits.
One landowner claimed their rent was slashed from £5,000 a year to £10. Others said their rents were cut from more than £1,000 to £37. Many landlords' rents fell by 90pc or more, the group said.
Campaign chair Anna Turley said: “Telecoms companies are hugely profitable and have recently been handed generous state subsidies to roll out high speed networks, particularly in rural areas.
“The individuals and organisations that have been forced to accept rental reductions of up to 90 per cent include farming families, amateur sports clubs, small business and parish councils.
"We will campaign tirelessly on their behalf to expose the aggressive tactics employed by telecoms operators and their agents and ensure property owners get a fair deal.”
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We are aware of concerns about how the code is working and this is precisely why we have launched a consultation to look at whether legislative changes are needed. We encourage those affected to contribute and make their voices heard."
Speed Up Britain, which represents telecoms companies, was approached for comment.
Landowners are launching a campaign against phone firms after being forced to accept rent cuts of 90pc or more for mobile masts on their properties.
The Protect & Connect lobby group is seeking to reform a 2017 law which slashed the amount landlords are paid in a bid to make it cheaper for phone firms to set masts up, with the aim of improving patchy signal in rural areas.
At least 25,000 small site owners have been stung by the cuts including cricket clubs, churches and farmers, campaigners said.
Ministers are now consulting on changes to the law, with internet access campaigners calling for it be tightened up so that rents fall again and mobile internet reach is further expanded. Protect & Connect is seeking changes which will restore some of landlords' lost profits.
One landowner claimed their rent was slashed from £5,000 a year to £10. Others said their rents were cut from more than £1,000 to £37. Many landlords' rents fell by 90pc or more, the group said.
Campaign chair Anna Turley said: “Telecoms companies are hugely profitable and have recently been handed generous state subsidies to roll out high speed networks, particularly in rural areas.
“The individuals and organisations that have been forced to accept rental reductions of up to 90 per cent include farming families, amateur sports clubs, small business and parish councils.
"We will campaign tirelessly on their behalf to expose the aggressive tactics employed by telecoms operators and their agents and ensure property owners get a fair deal.”
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We are aware of concerns about how the code is working and this is precisely why we have launched a consultation to look at whether legislative changes are needed. We encourage those affected to contribute and make their voices heard."
Speed Up Britain, which represents telecoms companies, was approached for comment.
Full Article
PRESS RELEASE: New campaign calls for fair deal for people and businesses whose rights are being eroded by telecoms companies
Protect & Connect launches campaign against rent cuts of up to 90 per cent by telecoms companies
-
Campaign to be chaired by former MP Anna Turley
-
Calls on UK government to revisit broken legislation and scrap
-
new proposals to grant telecoms companies even greater powers
-
Protect & Connect wants to see both sides working together to speed up 5G rollout and keep issues out of the courts
Farming Matters - BBC SOUNDS
19 January 2021
BBC SOUNDS
Voices, views, stories, news and engaging chat from Northern Ireland’s rural community.
Telecoms giants ‘fleecing’ landowners to build phone masts
23rd December 2019
DAILY BUSINESS GROUP
Landowners in Scotland claim they are being fleeced by telecoms operators using a scheme to boost network coverage as an excuse for slashing rents they pay for putting mobile phone masts on their land.
Telecoms mast law changes may cause problems for landowners
6th November 2020
NEWS & STAR
Many landowners in Cumbria have telephone masts located on their property with the leases generally historically held under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. This however has changed following the introduction of The Electronic Communications Code, as part of the Digital Economy Act 2017 which came into force on December 28 2017 and so whilst this is not new news, it continues to cause problems.
How to manage radiation exclusion zones for phone masts
28th January 2020
FARMERS WEEKLY
Farmers with telecoms masts on their land must fully understand radiation exclusion zones to safeguard people’s health and protect against potential liability claims.
EE to pay Dunley pensioner £300 - not £4,500 - for mast in garden
18th September 2019
THE SHUTTLE
A pensioner has reluctantly signed a deal with EE to have a permanent 20-metre-high phone mast in his back garden.
Mast warning issued to British farmers ahead of 5G network rollout
2nd September 2019
FARMERS GUARDIAN
Rollout of 5G could accelerate telecoms operators looking to use land without paying farmers and landowners the prices they may have received in the past.
How to make sure your telecom mast agreement is fair
20th July 2019
FARMERS WEEKLY
The UK Government’s push to increase mobile phone coverage across Wales has hidden, and potentially expensive, side effects for farmers, according Farmers’ Union of Wales
Telecom giants push for 5G - but cuts to compensation for farmers whose land is lost
3rd April 2019
FUW
The UK Government’s push to increase mobile phone coverage across Wales has hidden, and potentially expensive, side effects for farmers. The revised Electronic Communication Code means that Telecom operators have been able to cut rents paid to those with masts on their land.
Telecom giants push for 5G but at what cost to farmers?
2nd April 2019
WALES 24/7
The UK Government’s push to increase mobile phone coverage across Wales has hidden, and potentially expensive, side effects for farmers, according Farmers’ Union of Wales
Digital Minister: Farmers being ripped off by telecoms providers an ‘outrage’
4th October 2018
FARMERS GUARDIAN
The Digital Minister has said it is ‘an outrage’ that telecoms providers are ripping off farmers by slashing rents for phone mast sites.