FARMERS and landowners with telecom mast sites have been warned that companies are reviewing their portfolios and are looking to decommission some rural sites that are proving to be non-profitable.

The warning, from leading rural telecom consultants Fisher German, follows news that Vodafone has reported a record corporate loss of £14.9 billion.

"All the telecommunications companies have been looking at their portfolio of telecom sites," said Mark Newton, of Fisher German. "We have noticed that over the last few months that Vodafone has been more active than the others in terminating their sites. If sites do not meet financial targets, they are decommissioned, particularly non-profitable rural ones."