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Mobile network operators, such as EE<\/a>, O2<\/a>, Vodafone<\/a> and Three UK<\/a> (VodafoneThree), have reportedly warned the government that, in a worst-case scenario, the current energy crisis and rising costs may force some of them to ration access to their network or slow mobile broadband (4G<\/a>, 5G) speeds in order to reduce energy usage.<\/p>\n The option is said to be part of emergency plans that have been pieced together by the operators after the Government excluded them from the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme<\/a> (BICS), which pledged to help cut energy bills by up to 25% for over 10,000 businesses (manufacturers) from April 2027.<\/p>\n However, mobile operators argue that their networks are a highly energy intensive critical service, consuming just under 1 Terawatt-hour of electricity annually (roughly enough to power 370,000 homes). This is a problem because the cost of their electricity usage has risen by 70% in recent years and the conflict in the Middle East is expected to make things much worse.<\/p>\n According to the Telegraph<\/a> (paywall), another option could be to adopt \u201csurge pricing\u201c, which would charge customers an additional fee at peak times (we assume this would be applied to mobile data \/ broadband usage). But it\u2019s important to stress that these are \u201cworst case\u201d style contingency plans and we\u2019re not yet at such a level.<\/p>\n The operators have also threatened the possibility of scaling-back plans to expand their 5G networks (this could be tricky for VodafoneThree, given the binding commitments they\u2019ve made), while at the same time cutting jobs and moving more roles offshore (outsourcing abroad). Such a development would put pressure on the Government\u2019s ambition \u201cfor all populated areas\u201d to have access to Standalone 5G based mobile broadband technology by 2030 (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n A Virgin Media<\/a> O2<\/a> spokesperson said:<\/p>\n \u201cMobile and broadband networks are critical national infrastructure that almost every consumer and business relies on, yet despite their importance, telecoms companies have been excluded from support offered to other energy-intensive sectors.<\/p>\n If the Government wants growth, productivity and resilience, it cannot overlook the digital networks the country depends on.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesman for VodafoneThree said:<\/p>\n \u201cWe are disappointed that the Government has chosen not to include the telecoms sector in the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.<\/p>\n We urge the Government to consider the impact of rising energy prices on the vital telecoms sector that unlocks growth in all parts of the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Consumers are unlikely to greet any such measures positively. Any industry-wide move to adopt a similar approach is likely to be viewed quite cynically, particularly after so many of the biggest providers have been busy hitting customers with inflation busting price hikes for the past few years.<\/p>\n