A Cellular Revolution in the Periphery

Communications Minister Dr. Shlomo Karhi: “We are leading a historic move that will lead to the establishment of hundreds of new cellular sites in collaboration with local authorities. Our mission: advanced and accessible cellular communications throughout the country, with an emphasis on the Negev, the Galilee and Judea and Samaria. Local authorities that encourage the establishment of advanced cellular infrastructure in their region will receive grants for their operating budget. With God’s help, we will continue to complete the revolution and place Israel at the forefront of the global technological stage.” 

Communications Ministry Director General Elad Mekdasi: “Advanced, accessible and fast cellular infrastructure deployed nationwide is a growth engine for the economy and will improve the citizens’ quality of life. The current decision is part of the Communications Ministry’s work plan to significantly improve the cellular infrastructure in Israel. Through it, we make local authorities partners in the process and directly reward an authority that acts for the benefit of its residents and makes assets accessible for the construction of sites. The move is expected to help accelerate the deployment of cellular sites and improve the quality of cellular networks in Israel.”
 
The Cabinet today (Sunday) approved the plan presented by Communications Minister, Dr. Shlomo Karhi, to encourage the accessibility of thousands of assets of local authorities for the construction of cellular antennas. The objective of the outline promoted by the Communications Ministry, led by the minister, is to improve the cellular communications infrastructure in Israel and to ensure high quality and accessible reception to the general public.
 The decision is based on the recommendations of the inter-ministerial team established as part of Government Resolution 225 of February 24, 2023, headed by the communications minister, which examined ways to promote the deployment of advanced communications infrastructures while reducing exposure to non-ionizing radiation. The team’s findings, along with the State Comptroller’s report for 2024, pointed to the urgent need to improve the cellular infrastructure in Israel, especially in light of the poor quality of reception in certain areas during rush hour, as well as due to low user satisfaction in some areas. According to the Comptroller’s report, only about 7.7% of the cellular broadcasting facilities in Israel are located on local authorities’ properties and 59% of local authorities did not install such facilities at all. Therefore, the Communications Ministry is working to encourage the authorities to increase the supply of assets for the construction of broadcasting facilities by means of a “shelf offering” under transparent and predetermined conditions. In this framework, up to NIS 23 million will be allocated from the ministry’s 2025 budget for incentives for local authorities that meet the plan’s threshold conditions, including reducing barriers and actual construction of broadcasting facilities on a significant scale. The move is expected to improve the quality of cellular reception, support economic growth, and improve the well-being of residents. The improvement of cellular infrastructure is expected to indirectly contribute to an increase in labor productivity, the development of advanced digital services, and increased accessibility to public and business services. Making local authorities’ assets accessible for the construction of cellular antennas joins many moves promoted by Minister Shlomo Karhi and the Communications Ministry in the domain of cellular infrastructure, in particular the move to make thousands of state-owned assets accessible for the construction of cellular antennas at reduced rent, in the framework of a tender whose winners’ names were published in June 2025.