Forget 5G... 8 in 10 areas miss out on proper 4G!

EIGHT in ten areas have patchy 4G coverage – leaving millions of Britons at risk of mobile signal blackouts, a report published today suggests.

Which? found that many parts of the country that were poorly served included large towns and cities.

Parts of Sheffield, Essex, Brighton, Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Leeds were among the urban areas that did not receive adequate mobile broadband coverage.

It comes as the Government and mobile operators discuss how to boost 4G access in poorly-served areas and to meet a target of extending coverage to 95 per cent of the country by 2022. The next step is to upgrade areas to superfast 5G coverage.

But the Which? study shows how millions of smartphone-owners are being left behind in the digital revolution.

Its analysis of Ofcom data examined how many areas of the country have 4G mobile coverage from all four major operators – EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone.

Overall, the study found that in 524 out of 650 (80 per cent) parliamentary constituen

‘Unacceptable digital divide’

cies, 4G coverage is not available from all four operators. Only 67 per cent of the UK’s total geographical area has 4G coverage from all four operators, while 8 per cent has no 4G mobile coverage at all.

The most poorly- served city-based constituencies – where less than 80 per cent of the area received good coverage – were Rochford and Southend in Essex, southwest Devon, and Romsey and Southampton north in hampshire. Areas with less than 60 per cent mobile broadband coverage included Barrow and Furness in Cumbria, Ribble Valley in Lancashire and Scarborough and Whitby in North Yorkshire.

Among those who are well-served are the Loughborough constituents of Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, who is responsible for delivering the Government’s 95 per cent coverage target. In a separate survey, Which? found that almost half – 49 per cent – of people said they experienced a patchy mobile phone signal at least once a month.

Caroline Normand, of Which?, said: ‘ To tackle this unacceptable and widening digital divide, the Government must act to connect the UK with comprehensive mobile and broadband by swiftly putting in place a plan to give communities the infrastructure they need.’