The UK is Europe’s top investment destination. As the 5th largest economy in the world, the country is the leading destination for foreign investment in Europe.
A liberal economy—combined with world-class talent and a business-friendly regulatory environment—sees the UK ranked second in the G20 for ease of doing business, with the following strengths:
- More global multinationals have created subsidiaries in the UK than anywhere else, except for the USA. This multinational presence creates an ideal platform for the development of strategic partnerships for both R&D talent and Go To Market needs and engagement with globally relevant ecosystems.
- The PWC Global CEO Survey ranked the UK as 4th most favoured investment destination.
- The UK has 90 world-class universities with four in the global top ten (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and UCL). The quality of UK academic research ranks as best in the G7 and all other comparator countries and has been done every year since 2007.
Within the UK, telecoms revenues make a £31.5 billion contribution to the economy:
- Retail fixed and retail mobile telecoms services generated £14.0bn and £12.5bn in revenue respectively in 2020, with £5.1bn coming from wholesale services.
- 96% of the UK has access to Superfast broadband
- 19.3 million homes in the UK can connect to gigabit-capable broadband
- 92% of the UK landmass is predicted to have good 4G coverage from at least one operator, and this area includes nearly all of the premises in the UK.
- 5G coverage from at least one MNO now ranges from 47% (very high confidence) to 63% (high confidence) of premises outdoors.
The UK offers world-class talent, high investment and a robust, business-friendly environment to reliably expand, trade and invest.
Why Invest in UK Telecoms?
The UK has many advantages when it comes to telecoms and innovation broadly, hosting several regional clusters of expertise. There is significant capability in artificial intelligence, cyber security, software and virtualisation, system integration and testing, space and satellite communications, and photonics and semiconductors. Along with a vibrant creative sector, these strengths drive innovation in a range of digital technologies. The UK also has significant academic strengths in the telecoms space, with a disproportionate share of the top universities for telecoms engineering. There is a thriving start-up scene, alongside a deep and growing pool of technology and R&D talent.
The telecoms sector benefits from its engagements in the broader technology sector. The UK tech industry is a key growth sector, expanding at a faster rate than the UK economy and maintaining its lead as one of the world’s premier locations for tech of all kinds.
Breaking into a new market can be daunting, especially in a sector as complex as telecoms. Our UKTIN International Advisory Support Service has been designed to offer overseas organisations a smoother path to entering the UK.