Mobile signal? Not the remotest chance

WHEN travelling in one of Britain’s most remote areas, a mobile phone can be the only way to stay in touch.

But EE customers in the Ardnamurchan peninsula have been left without coverage for almost three months.

An area stretching 23 miles from Glenuig to Strontian lost its signal on July 11.

EE blames the problem on a ‘transmission issue’, leading to it removing a microwave dish from a radio link at Strontian.

The telecoms giant said this month it needed to install a new link before the service is restored. But residents – who continue to pay their bills – and local businesses say they are ‘at the end of their tether’.

Graham Cameron, 62, from Acharacle, owns a plumbing firm and pays EE £75 a month for two phones.

He said: ‘Once I leave for work in the morning I am invisible. I can’t get in touch with anybody and they can’t contact me.

‘In my line of work the first person to pick up the phone often gets the job. Once people can’t get through to me, they just pick the next number in the phone book.’

NHS Highland has had to enact contingency plans to manage the lack of connectivity.

A spokesman said: ‘It makes it harder for us to deliver services across the peninsula.’

EE, a division of the BT Group, also provides coverage for the mobile phone arms of Asda, BT and Virgin. These networks have also been disrupted.

Last night, Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes said: ‘Just because the site is in a more remote area of the country, EE cannot be excused for not fixing the mast as a matter of urgency.

‘I have raised the matter with EE frequently since mid-July. It is now almost the end of September and I know many customers are getting to the end of their tether.’

An EE spokesman said: ‘Our engineers are working closely with the site provider to restore service as quickly as possible, as well as exploring a number of temporary solutions to avoid further disruption.

‘We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing our customers.’