Ofcom demands wider network coverage

OFCOM ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY its plans to close the annoying gaps in Britain’s mobile network coverage, bringing signal out to the sticks.

This was the first ever comprehensive review of the mobile phone industry in Britain where the regulator also proposed to scrap the complicated system of fees charged by mobile phone companies to connect calls.

Mobiles have become such a huge part of British life that Ofcom guess that some time in the next two years we will spend way more time on our mobile than on our landlines – and for some this is already the case.

In order for this to happen, though, coverage needs to be improved, as in some areas of Britain it is simply not up to scratch even for basic text or calls.

When looking at mobile broadband services, networks have only covered 80 percent of the population, leaving rural areas in places such as Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire stranded in more way than one.

Ofcom boss Ed Richards said yesterday that as “mobile becomes ever more important and ever more central to people's lives, coverage is important."

The regulator suggests that mobile users should have access to any available network out in the sticks, this will hopefully cut down on the millions needed to plaster the country with masts from all the five main networks.

This investigation also flagged up several other complaints which need ironing out as, “While the vast majority of us are happy with our mobiles and enjoy the experience, there is a small but significant number who are dissatisfied," Richards said. µ