MOBILE phone reception in parts of Oxfordshire is so poor that the competitiveness of businesses is being put at risk, claims Euro-MP James Elles.

South East of England Conservative MEP Mr Elles says he is being ‘inundated’ with calls for action from Oxfordshire companies.

Mr Elles said he was shocked by the accounts of the problems faced by companies trying to operate in a county known for its cutting-edge science and hi-tech business base.

He said one businesswoman told him she had become used to having to go to the third floor of a building to use her mobile phone.

Today Mr Elles will be raising the issue at a meeting with the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership.

Mr Elles said that with mobile Internet becoming increasingly important, there was a risk of local firms being put at a serious disadvantage because of difficulties with mobile reception.

He added: “Oxfordshire is a county which has many world leading businesses but future economic development could well be hampered by poor communications.

“On the continent, because networks are shared, companies, as well as individuals, can get pretty good reception in most places.

“To be on the leading edge of technical development it will be essential to have unimpeded access to mobile networks.

“The aim in Oxfordshire must be to achieve this by the end of this year.”

Mr Elles, who is vice-chairman of the European Internet Foundation, said he was given a taste of how bad things had become at a recent breakfast meeting at the Oxford offices of chartered accountants Grant Thornton.

The head of a local firm of business psychologists told him that in her holiday home in Turkey her mobile was “always clear as a bell” but in Kidlington she had to go to the top of the building.

He said he had been told that people in Woodstock and parts of west Oxfordshire also seemed to have constant problems getting a reliable signal.

Iain Nicholson, director of the Oxfordshire Chambers Network, said: “It hasn’t been raised as an issue with us.

“Perhaps it’s something people just put up with and don’t talk about unless asked.

“I can well believe that this is what people are experiencing.”

Jane Frapwell, a spokesman for Newbury-based mobile phone operator Vodafone, said: “Vodafone provides second generation coverage (voice and text) to 99 per cent of the population.

“We’re constantly upgrading and improving our network. When, for whatever reason, (there are) planning restrictions or topographical challenges – for example there’s a less than optimum signal – we offer a Sure Signal device to remedy the problem.”

* Do you have problems getting a mobile phone signal? Let us know. Email news@oxfordmail.co.uk, or call us on 01865 425500