Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Warinder Juss
Main Page: Warinder Juss (Labour - Wolverhampton West)Department Debates - View all Warinder Juss's debates with the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Broadband and Mobile Connectivity: Rural Areas
Warinder Juss Excerpts(1 day, 19 hours ago)
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Anna Sabine
I have met the Minister before, which I will come on to. I know there is a plan, about which I have some specific questions. I totally agree that this is a nationwide challenge. On mobile reception, I am particularly concerned about the elderly and vulnerable in the Government’s digital switchover. Many of those individuals still rely on landlines, not by choice but because mobile signal in their area is unreliable.
Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)
My constituency of Wolverhampton West is residential, densely populated and urban. The area of Tettenhall has lots of elderly constituents, many of whom do not have a mobile signal, creating a dead zone. A recent investigation by The Observer said that, nationally, mobile coverage is more than 1,000 times worse than reported by Ofcom. Does the hon. Member agree that this is not solely a rural problem, but a national problem that affects everyone and to which the Government need to give urgent priority?
Anna Sabine
I have not seen that research by The Observer, but it is interesting. I live in a town in my constituency and I have poor mobile coverage. I am sure it is not uncommon to find that it is worse than it is reported.
Many older people in my constituency still rely on landlines, not by choice but because the mobile signal in their area is unreliable. Although good internet and 4G can enable voice calls, that is not always the case in rural areas. Crucial services such as two-factor authentication for medical appointments or online banking still rely on SMS, which in turn relies on having basic mobile coverage. A constituent in Alhampton tells me that every time she needs a one-time passcode, she has to run out of her house and up the road to try to get a signal.