Mobile networks are lobbying government for taxpayer subsidies to improve coverage on the railways.
According to a Daily Telegraph report, at least two of the four MNOs are understood to be seeking public funding to be redirected to improve rail and road connectivity.
It comes at the same time as Building Digital UK has written to operators asking them for their views on the second phase of the Shared Rural Network scheme. The options include diverting further funding to other areas or scrapping the programme altogether.
The telecoms companies are believed to be lobbying for the money to be redirected, arguing that better transport network coverage would benefit more people than in rural areas.
A spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and technology said, “The Shared Rural Network has led to hundreds of mast upgrades and helped bring 4G coverage to over 93 per cent of the UK.”
Earlier this month, HS2 Ltd announced that mobile and broadband network providers will be able to buy access to spare capacity in its fibreoptic cabling and telecoms masts.