Four new masts could be put up across Tameside soon.

Telecoms company IX Wireless want to put the 15-meter-tall metal poles in Ashton, Denton and Stalybridge.

The masts will be located: directly across from the car park on Marlor Street in Denton; on the grass verge north of Adlington Way in Denton; on the grass verge outside Rosehill tennis club Gorsey Lane in Ashton-under-Lyne; and on the grass verge across the road from School Cresent in Stalybridge.

All four applications submitted request permission for not only the poles: but fibre cables and radio antennae as well as a street cabinet to house electronic communications apparatus.

IX Wireless want to install the masts as part of the Governments nationwide plan to improve the availability of high-speed broadband for all.

The Governments target is that at least 85% of the UK will have a gigabit-capable broadband connection available by 2025, they hope that this will be at least 99% by 2030.

According to IX Wireless in their application; the improved telecommunication infrastructure will have significant commercial and social benefits.

One of the planning statements said: “the docus of the applicants ‘internet for all’ programme is in tackling access and affordability issues which are key in addressing the digital divide, particularly with over 2 million homes experiencing affordability issues with internet access as of October 2021.

“Additionally, the applicant’s network will deliver a range of low cost, high quality broadband packages with guaranteed speeds of between 40Mb and 300Mb, with a roadmap to delivering 1Gb services by the end of 2023.

“According to the fair internet report website the average download speed in the Tameside area as of September 2023 was 97Mbps. The applicant’s network will not only bring additional choice to residents but will offer packages with equal or faster download speeds for less.”