London could lose 100 mobile sites this year over planning rules

What VodafoneThree's report says

VodafoneThree published a report called Lost Sites, Lost Signal: The Impact of Notices to Quit on Londoners on 16 September 2026. The central claim is that the operator expects to be forced to take nearly 100 London sites offline by the end of 2026. The figure 100 is the operator's own projection, and it sits alongside a broader argument about how mobile infrastructure is treated when buildings change use. The mechanism behind the losses is the Notice to Quit. A Notice to Quit is a legal notice from a landowner requiring removal of mobile equipment when a building is renovated, redeveloped or demolished. In practice, a landlord who wants to redevelop a rooftop or an upper floor can require the operator to remove its antennas, cabinets and connecting equipment, and the operator has to comply.

The report also sets out what the operator says this means for the capital. It says around one in five London high streets have a functional not-spot, meaning signal exists but data is unreliable. It says approximately 60 rail, Underground or Overground stations are affected at any one time. And it puts a cost on the disruption: the operator estimates lost economic output at around 7.4 million pounds a day, or 2.7 billion pounds a year. That cost figure is VodafoneThree's estimate, not an independent calculation, and it is published as part of a campaign for planning changes. The report is therefore best read as both a description of a technical and legal problem and a piece of advocacy. The same issue was raised by O2 in June 2026, which suggests the problem is not confined to one operator.

Why a lost mast takes years to replace

The timing mismatch is the heart of the operator's complaint. Operators typically receive 18 months' notice under a Notice to Quit. That sounds like a reasonable period to find an alternative, but VodafoneThree says replacing a site takes around five years on average due to planning processes and site acquisition. The gap between 18 months and five years is where coverage disappears. A replacement site is not simply a matter of moving equipment to another roof. The operator has to identify a suitable building or structure, agree terms with a new landlord, obtain planning permission, secure power and backhaul connections, and then build and integrate the new site into the surrounding network. Each of those steps can introduce delay, and any one of them can fail.

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer at VodafoneThree, said sites can be forced offline far more quickly than they can be replaced. That statement captures the asymmetry: removal is a legal process that can be triggered by a single landowner's decision, while replacement depends on a chain of consents and commercial agreements. The result is that a building redevelopment in one part of a borough can remove coverage that residents in neighbouring streets also rely on. The operator's argument is that the planning system does not currently treat mobile coverage as a material consideration when redevelopment is proposed, so the loss is not mitigated at the point when it could be. Whether or not the five-year average applies to every site, the direction of travel is clear: the notice period is shorter than the replacement period, and that leaves a gap.

Where Londoners notice it

The report points to two everyday settings where the effects show up. The first is the high street. VodafoneThree says around one in five London high streets have a functional not-spot, meaning signal exists but data is unreliable. A functional not-spot is different from a complete absence of signal. A phone may show bars, but apps may fail to load, card payments may time out, and maps may not refresh. For a household, that can mean a call that drops when walking to the shops, or a mobile payment that fails at a counter. For a small business, it can mean card readers that do not work reliably at peak times. The second setting is transport. Approximately 60 rail, Underground or Overground stations are affected at any one time, according to the report. Stations are busy, enclosed and often built from materials that make radio propagation difficult, so a lost site near a station can have an outsized effect on passengers.

The pattern matters because mobile coverage is not evenly distributed. A site that serves a dense residential block may also serve a station entrance, a high street and a bus route. When that site goes offline, the loss is felt across several user groups at once. The operator's figures suggest the problem is concentrated in places where people are most likely to be relying on mobile data: shopping streets and transport hubs. The report does not claim that every Londoner is affected equally, and coverage varies by network, by handset and by the specific frequencies in use. But the combination of high street not-spots and station disruption explains why the issue has moved from a technical planning matter to a consumer complaint. Households may notice it first as a change in reliability rather than a complete loss of service.

What the operator wants changed

VodafoneThree wants three specific changes. First, it wants operators involved at the pre-application stage of planning, so that coverage can be considered before a redevelopment is designed and approved. Second, it wants a stronger coordinating role for the Greater London Authority, so that site losses are managed across borough boundaries rather than one planning authority at a time. Third, it wants the forthcoming London Plan to protect coverage during redevelopment. These are planning and governance asks, and they are aimed at closing the gap between the 18-month notice period and the five-year replacement period. The logic is that if coverage were a material consideration earlier in the process, operators would have more time and more options to relocate equipment before a building comes down.

It is important to be clear about the status of these claims. The cost figure of around 7.4 million pounds a day, or 2.7 billion pounds a year, is VodafoneThree's own estimate. The report is published by the operator, and the planning changes it proposes would benefit the operator by making it easier and faster to deploy and retain equipment. That does not make the underlying problem unreal. O2 raised the same Notices to Quit issue in June 2026, which indicates a shared industry concern rather than a single company's grievance. But readers should treat the economic estimate as an advocacy number rather than an audited statistic. The factual core is narrower and more solid: Notices to Quit are being served, sites are being removed, and replacements take longer than the notice period allows. The policy argument about what to do next is contested, and the London Plan process is where that argument will be resolved.

What you can do if your signal drops

If coverage at home or work has got worse, the first step is to check what you should be able to receive. Ofcom publishes coverage information that can be checked by postcode, and network operators publish their own coverage maps. These tools show predicted outdoor coverage rather than guaranteed indoor service, so a postcode check is a starting point rather than a promise. If the check shows coverage should be available but calls and data are unreliable, the issue may be a local site loss, a building material problem, or congestion at busy times. Keeping a simple record of when and where calls drop can help when raising the issue with a provider. It is also worth checking whether the problem affects one network or several, since a site loss usually affects a single operator's equipment.

There are practical steps that do not require planning reform. Wi-Fi calling can route calls and texts over a home broadband connection, which helps if indoor signal is weak but broadband is reliable. Some handsets and networks support Wi-Fi calling and 4G or 5G calling, and these settings are usually found in the phone's mobile network menu. If coverage has changed materially, customers can ask their network about their rights, including whether they can switch without penalty if the service no longer matches what was promised. For broader guidance on checking and improving mobile reception, see the KT mobile signal guides, which cover coverage checks, indoor signal options and network switching. Households in affected areas may also want to raise the issue with their local council, since planning decisions about redevelopment are made at borough level and the London Plan consultation is a chance to comment on how coverage is treated.

Source: VodafoneThree: Lost Sites, Lost Signal.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a Notice to Quit in mobile networking?

A Notice to Quit is a legal notice from a landowner requiring removal of mobile equipment when a building is renovated, redeveloped or demolished. Operators typically receive 18 months' notice.

How many London sites does VodafoneThree expect to lose?

VodafoneThree expects to be forced to take nearly 100 London sites offline by the end of 2026.

How long does it take to replace a mobile site?

VodafoneThree says replacing a site takes around five years on average due to planning processes and site acquisition, compared with the 18 months' notice typically given under a Notice to Quit.

What is a functional not-spot?

The report says around one in five London high streets have a functional not-spot, meaning signal exists but data is unreliable.

How many stations are affected?

Approximately 60 rail, Underground or Overground stations are affected at any one time, according to the report.