Shropshire is bidding to be at the forefront of 5G mobile technology, saying it will be a “game changer” for businesses in the county.
Shropshire Council said it is pitching to get the high speed mobile data technology rolled out in the county as soon as it is available.
The authority said it would be a huge boost to businesses, who are already benefiting from the broadband roll-out still happening in rural areas.
Mark Barrow, the council’s director of place, said he was working with the West Midlands Combined Authority on the project.
He said: “We are pitching to bring 5G to Shropshire as soon as it is available.
“The West Midlands Combined Authority is bidding to bring it to Birmingham and other areas as soon as it is ready to go.
“We are a non-constituent member of the authority and as part of that we are pitching to bring it here straight away.
“It is a game changer. It will being HD video quality on mobile data. We want to be there and at the forefront of this.
“Current 4G data powers 4,000 mobiles per square kilometre. 5G would be strong enough to power a million.”
Mr Barrow said it was all part of plans to help support the county’s businesses.
He said: “You can have any kind of business in Shropshire, you can be massive and you can be run from home.
“We are working hard to ensure the infrastructure is there to allow businesses to grow and prosper.
“There has been a major broadband roll-out which is still on-going and adding 5G would be a real positive, that is what it is all about.”
Councillor Peter Nutting, council leader, added: “Improving mobile phone service and internet speeds is absolutely vital.
“There are still areas of Shropshire where basic mobile phone signal is a struggle, so we want to transform that and ensure you can run a business from anywhere in Shropshire, no matter how rural it is.”
They said 99 per cent of business in Shropshire have 250 or fewer employees, with 90 per cent of those having fewer than 10.
“This will really help those small businesses we are working hard to support,” Councillor Nutting said.
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