MPS call for action on rural 4G ‘not-spots’

DOZENS of MPS are urging ministers to force mobile phone operators to plug so-called “not-spots” in rural areas.

Matt Hancock, the Digital and Culture secretary, has received a letter from 52 MPS from all parties urging him to challenge the speed and roll out of 4G coverage to help communities living in the countryside get a clear signal.

The MPS are calling for a legally binding coverage obligation imposed on all four major operators to deliver mobile coverage to 95 per cent of mainland Britain by the end of 2022.

The letter has been coordinated by the all-party parliamentary group for rural business, chaired by Julian Sturdy MP, who said: “While people inside 90 per cent of UK premises can make telephone calls on all four mobile networks, this falls to 57 per cent in rural areas. This is just not good enough, and progress in connecting the countryside has been painfully slow.

“We are asking the Secretary of State to step in and work with Ofcom to ensure that the mobile operators speed up delivery of 4G to rural areas.”

A Department of Culture Media and Sport spokesman said: “We have made it cheaper and easier for industry to roll out masts, but the mobile companies now need to act fast on these reforms and deliver better coverage across the UK, particularly in rural areas.

“We welcome Ofcom’s proposals to place new, legally binding obligations on industry to drive up rural mobile coverage even further.”