Areas in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are to benefit from a £150 million government investment in mobile phone coverage.

The funding will allow the government-backed Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) to extend mobile phone coverage to areas where no coverage is currently available.

"Extending mobile phone coverage will provide hundreds of millions of pounds of economic benefits as well as resulting in positive social impacts, such as increased safety and security in terms of emergency response," said the government.

Cornwall, Northumberland, Strabane, Aberdeenshire and Powys are among the areas that stand to benefit most from the project, said the government, with the first new sites due to go live "by the end of this year". A full version of the map can be viewed here.

The government is providing capital funding for Arqiva to build the new site infrastructure, while mobile network operators EE, Telefonica, Three and Vodafone will be providing coverage from the sites and funding their operating costs for the 20-year life of the project.

Communications minister Ed Vaizey said: "This project will see mobile phone coverage extended to many of the people who currently live and work in areas where there is none. The project will provide a significant boost to local economies across the UK."

Arqiva has begun identifying suitable sites in a phased process. Once sites are identified Arqiva will work to acquire rights to the sites and obtain planning permission before beginning the physical roll-out of infrastructure.

The aim is for all sites to be acquired and built by 2015, said the government.