Helen says ‘no more not spots’ as Rural Roaming petition launched
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has launched a petition calling for ‘no more not spots’ in support of her recent ‘Rural Roaming’ Bill.
3 Jan 2024
Helen dials up campaign for better rural mobile signal
5 Dec 2023
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has met with mobile operators in Parliament as part of her campaign for better mobile signal coverage in rural areas.
The MP claims that signal in North Shropshire is ‘patchy’ with data revealing that 13% of the constituency is designated a ‘partial not-spot’ for mobile signal. Over half of rural buildings (53%) do not get indoor mobile signal from all four of the top mobile operators.
The MP has met with BT/EE, Vodafone, Three, and O2/Virgin to discuss the progress of the Shared Rural Network, a plan to improve 4G coverage in the UK which is part-funded by the Government.
In these meetings, the North Shropshire MP stressed that operators must be willing to share their masts or allow rural roaming for everyone to have access to at least a 4G signal, otherwise only those who are customers of operators with new or upgraded masts near them will benefit.
She has now published an Early Day Motion urging other MPs to join call for the Government to take this problem seriously.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said, “A reliable mobile signal is at the core of functioning communities and thriving businesses.
“In the Autumn Statement the Government committed to fund for 5G projects, despite the fact that rural areas struggle to get even a 4G signal.
“We need to allow mobile operators to share their masts with other operators so that people in North Shropshire can use their phone wherever they live, work or visit.
“A decent mobile signal is an essential of modern-day life, and it’s unreasonable to expect those in rural areas to struggle to connect to the outside world.”
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