56 MPs call on government to act on rural connectivity

More than 50 MPs have urged the government to act on mobile connectivity in rural areas, with operators criticised for failing to resolve poor signals.

The 56 MPs have sent a joint letter to Digital Secretary Matthew Hancock asking him to challenge the current speed and ambition of 4G coverage roll out in rural areas.

Expressing concern about progress to date, the MPs are calling for a legally binding coverage obligation imposed on all four major operators to support the Department for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport’s stated ambition to deliver mobile coverage to 95% of UK geographic landmass by the end of 2022

The Government estimated that achieving this ambition would add £75 billion to UK GDP.

The letter has been signed by 56 MPs from parties including the Conservative Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.

It asks the Digital Secretary to take urgent action to ensure better coverage, including regulation imposing a legally binding coverage obligation on all four major operators and a significant change in the rules on transparency that prevent mobile operators hiding behind ‘commercial confidentiality’, refusing to tell communities where and when they plan to roll out coverage.

The letter has been co-ordinated by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Rural Business, which is chaired by Julian Sturdy MP (York Outer).

Mr Sturdy, Conservative MP, said progress in connecting the country has been "painfully slow".

“Ofcom’s Connected Nations report in December 2017 revealed that while people inside 90% of UK premises can make telephone calls on all four mobile networks, this falls to 57% in rural areas. This is just not good enough and progress in connecting the countryside has been painfully slow,” Mr Sturdy said.

“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.”

'Abandoned'

The MPs’ collective action follows a report by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) last month, which revealed that in 2015, 2016 and 2017 mobile network operators have been failing to submit applications for new masts to improve mobile coverage in some of the rural areas with the worst 4G coverage.

CLA Deputy President Mark Bridgeman, who farms in Northumberland, said many rural communities seem to have been abandoned by the mobile operators.

“For too long people living and working in the countryside have been disadvantaged by the mobile network operators’ failure to resolve poor signal and mobile ‘not-spots’ in rural areas,” Mr Bridgeman said.

“It is clear that the mobile operators will only make the investment needed to connect the countryside if they are forced to do so. While many rural communities seem to have been abandoned by the mobile operators, these 56 MPs are making sure the rural voice is heard and we look forward to the Secretary of State’s response.”

'Waste time everyday'

The join letter follows a survey by the NFU which reveals that only 9% of farmers receive broadband speeds of 24Mbps or more and only 15% had a reliable outdoor phone signal across the farm.

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said it’s "very frustrating" for farmers who "waste time everyday" due to poor connections and cannot take advantage of on-farm technology.

“One member spent two and half hours trying to set up a banking service, thwarted by a broadband service that kept dropping out,” Mr Smith explained.

“Another explained how it was not possible to gain real time information from contractors and agronomists.

“A third could not contact their vet and a fourth explained wider rural services, such as their holiday and business letting services had been impacted,” Mr Smith added.

The NFU said that every farming business must be able to access superfast broadband and a good mobile phone reception to get work done.