This fluidity has meant that it is being considered much more as part of transport strategy work. Simply, changes in connectivity will affect accessibility and economic performance, and so investing in such connectivity in transport terms is a very good thing.

Yet we do not consider investment in connectivity such as the 4G roll-out in the same way. Partly because the business case for investment is different, and it is spear-headed by a different government department (the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport).

The impacts of improved internet connectivity — a big justification for the roll-out — on travel is well documented, and something that I will not go into further here. But what of mobile phone signal? There is evidence that suggests that people are willing to pay a premium to avoid the costs of travel to get a phone signal.

There is also some very interesting evidence from Africa that suggests that rolling out mobile phone coverage is a ‘pro-poor’ policy. Reading an excellent research project into just this, I noticed the following:

…mobile phones can assist households’ budget when faced with unpredictable shocks which drive poverty. The probability of a poorfamily incurring drastic loss due to an unpredictable shock iscertainly mitigated and lowered when families are able to respond to the shock in a more timelyfashion. Hence, the mobile phone could have the greatest effects on poverty reduction during vulnerable shock experiences through driving downcosts associated to the shock. Better financial management and coping with shock include: incurring lower travel costs, more efficient action, less trauma and improved access to information. Immediate positive feedbacks of income saving and cost mitigation are found particularly during vulnerable situations like death or illness in the family…

This points to something that I had not considered before. The mobile phone could be influencing travel patterns through giving people greater resilience to change, and negating their need to travel in response to such events.