UK mobile blackspots disrupt payments and raise emergency-call concerns

In the centre of Eskdalemuir, Scotland, Trudi King-Gunn says there is no mobile signal. She is concerned about reaching emergency services during a power cut and says people have previously had difficulty calling for an ambulance. Back-up batteries would keep landlines working for only two or three hours, she told the BBC. [1]

Poor connectivity is also affecting payments. At a kiosk on Llandudno Pier in Wales, the BBC saw a customer face a long wait to pay by card. Its owner, Bella McBride, says her card machine sometimes stops working altogether. In Ely, England, trader Tasnime Rotherham says half her business’s payments are by card and that failed transactions have cost her sales. Traders there now have Wi-Fi in the marketplace because of the weak mobile signal, she says. [1]

The BBC reports that councillors approved new phone masts in Llandudno last year, but they have yet to be installed. Concerns have also been raised about their visual effect on the town’s Victorian seafront, which is a conservation area. [1]

The local problems sit alongside extensive national coverage. Ofcom figures cited by the BBC put good 4G coverage from every mobile operator at 84% of the UK, and 4G coverage from at least one operator at 96%. The government says more than 95% of the UK’s landmass is within range of a 4G signal through the Shared Rural Network; its aim of 5G coverage across all populated areas by 2030 remains a target. Mobile UK, which represents operators, says changes to planning rules would help providers build new sites. [1]