MORE than half of homes and businesses in South and West Oxfordshire do not have full 4G coverage, according to Ofcom.
Figures from the communications regulator’s Connected Nations report show that in January 2018, 55 per cent of premises in the south of the county, and 59 per cent in the west, did not have reliable 4G coverage from all four mobile phone networks.
Campaigners have said that it is essential for consumers to get access to 4G from all four networks, so they do not have to suffer localised monopolies.
The County Land and Business Association is calling on the Government to introduce legally-binding targets to force the mobile phone networks to extend 4G coverage.
It said that mobile phone operators were letting rural areas become “a digital wilderness”.
CLA senior economic adviser, Dr Charles Trotman, said: “State of the art coverage will improve productivity of businesses and make them far more profitable.”
Dr Trotman explained that the CLA’s aim is to push for comprehensive and reliable 4G coverage from all four major mobile networks - EE, 3, Virgin and O2.
“Our objective is universal coverage,” he said. “But everything is predicated on the operators themselves to put the infrastructure in place.
“We need to incentivise all operators to branch out, to give consumers more market choice and avoid localised monopolies.”
Ofcom has proposed introducing obligations that require networks to deliver better quality indoor coverage.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We agree mobile coverage must improve, particularly in rural communities, and we’re working with the Government and the industry to support this.
“We want mobile companies to extend their networks as a priority, and we’ve announced plans to make them increase coverage for rural areas as we release more airwaves next year.”
A government spokesman said it has introduced reforms to improve the connection for rural communities, but mobile phone companies need to act on these and improve their services.
“But the mobile companies now need to act fast on these reforms and deliver better coverage across the UK, particularly in rural areas.”
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