Get Us Connected campaign: Final call over Shropshire's signal crisis

Readers, business owners and politicians across the county have joined our fight to get a better mobile phone signal for Shropshire.

The Shropshire Star will now deliver the signatures calling for better mobile phone service in the county to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Sajid Javid as well as the UK phone networks – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – and Ofcom.

Our Get Us Connected campaign was launched with the backing of Shropshire Council to call for urgent Government action to tackle the mobile network crisis which leaves large areas of the county without a signal.

The online petition is being closed with the number of signatures standing at 1,543. That total is expected to increase substantially when the paper petitions, which have been available in public libraries across Shropshire, are counted.

• Click here to sign our 'Get Us Connected' petition

• See also: Shropshire phone signal crisis fight begins

• Star Comment: Calls for action over county's signal crisis

• What's the mobile phone signal like where you are in Shropshire? Let us know in the comment box below.

At the launch of the campaign, Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow said the phone reception in Shropshire was something which could be expected from a Third World country and must be dealt with.

He stressed the importance of working together, as he had discovered people were getting nowhere complaining as individuals.

At a meeting of full council in September members backed a motion to support the Shropshire Star petition.

Mr Barrow said today: "It has been wonderful working with the Shropshire Star on this important campaign. I would also like to thank everyone who signed the petition. It has done exactly what I hoped it would do, and I am pleased that EE is finally listening to the plight of our residents.

"I look forward to seeing improvements in the mobile phone and internet signals across the county in the new year."

The campaign also received the backing of the county's MPs including Shropshire and Atcham representative Daniel Kawczynski, who threw his weight behind it after receiving complaints from constituents.

Another supporter was Telford MP David Wright who said today: "The Shropshire Star is a campaigning newspaper and that is a great asset to our community. It is really positive that this campaign is bringing issues about connectivity to the attention of the Government and other partners."

As the petition closed today, the four major phone networks all promised to improve their coverage in rural areas such as Shropshire – although none was able to guarantee how long it would take.

O2 spokesman John Maley said a single grid being built by the firm along with Vodafone would extend 3G coverage.

Vodafone's Ally Stevens urged Shropshire customers to apply for its Rural Open Sure Signal programme which will use existing broadband services in 100 rural communities across the UK to deliver a reliable 3G signal.

EE apologised for the problems and promised to launch an investigation.

Headache for shoppers and traders in Oswestry

As the second biggest market town in Shropshire you might expect Oswestry to have a reliable mobile phone signal. But shoppers in the town centre paint a very different picture of patchy signals, connections dropping out and no access to 3G services.

Lawrence Guiel, 29, said for several months he had almost no signal and no 3G access. He said he complained to EE about his signal but hasn't received any reply.

"My signal a few months ago was awful. I couldn't get any signal at all," he said. "The internet was a problem for months. I live in Welsh Walls and before that I lived in Cabin Lane, so right near the town centre, but it was still terrible."

One of the issues Mr Guiel said he had was that even when he complained, nothing was done, and his complaint wasn't even acknowledged. He added: "The signal's got a bit better now but my contract's almost run out so I'm going to look at another provider."

Oswestry business owner Michael McHale, who owns Oswestry Cobblers in Bailey Street, said he usually has good signal in his shop.

But he said he was hopeful the new equipment promised by EE to replace decade-old masts across the county would solve all the current signal problems.

"I believe the reason they can't cope is that the masts aren't designed to handle all the data that's going through them," he said.

Madeline Pass, 69, said she only uses her mobile phone occasionally to text and for emergencies.

But she said she still has problems even though she doesn't use her phone for internet services.

Mrs Pass, from High Lea Close, said: "In town my mobile phone's awful. I've got problems all the time with it.

"It was supposed to be for if I have a crisis but I can't get it to work half the time."

Trevor Blackshaw, from Regent Court, said after he switched networks to O2 he has had no problems getting a signal in the town for basic calls. "I only have a small, basic phone, but it's sufficient for my needs," he said.

EE launches investigation into county's signal crisis

The Get Us Connected petition is pushing for all mobile networks to take action and improve their phone service in the county.

But we have had by far the greatest reaction from disgruntled customers of EE, which was formerly T-Mobile and Orange until a merger last year.

The network has been quick to respond to the complaints.

It initially blamed a "technical fault at a site in the area" which it insisted an engineer was fixing.

But when it became clear customers from across the county were consistently criticising the network's coverage and customer service, it apologised and has promised a full investigation.

This latter promise even included appearing at a public meeting earlier this month at Edgerton Village Hall where angry residents asked why masts had been taken down before proper research had been carried out and questioned whether they would be reimbursed for breaches in their mobile phone contracts.

At that meeting, John Carwardine, community affairs manager for EE, admitted: "The problems experienced in Shropshire have not been the best but the service is there, we have just had issues with the equipment.

"We will have the best new technology but it will take some time."

Gareth Hewlett, EE's head of customer networks in Shropshire, said the company was in the process of replacing equipment that was 10 years old. As the Shropshire Star brought its petition to a close today, an EE spokesman said: "We sincerely apologise to customers who are currently experiencing signal issues in the Shropshire area.

"We have launched a full investigation and are working to improve service."

O2 promises to improve Shropshire's network coverage

O2 has promised to improve its network coverage in Shropshire after criticism of its service in rural areas.

Most customers say the network is usable in more populated areas of the county, such as Shrewsbury and Telford, and even in the middle of smaller towns like Welshpool and Ludlow.

But it is when taking a trip into the countryside, even along some of the county's main roads, that people lose signal – which raised concerns that those involved in minor accidents might not be able to reach loved ones.

Some people blame signal problems on work to upgrade the network to deal with internet services.

At the beginning of our campaign, company spokeswoman Sarah Taylor said: "Our £1.5 billion investment in our network over the next three years includes the modernisation of our 2G and 3G networks as well as continuing the rollout of our 4G network. Other than the physical exercise of taking down a mast, there's nothing about rolling out 4G that is affecting 3G coverage.

"We don't dismiss that people are seeing an impact but the perception that 4G is making 2G and 3G worse is simply wrong – any disruption is a matter of days while the actual work is carried out.

"With Vodafone, we are building a single grid which will bring 3G to parts of the country that have never had it and, in comparable terms, our 3G network when we finish will offer over 50 per cent more coverage than today." That message was backed up today by another company spokesman, John Maley.

He urged Shropshire customers to check their coverage on the firm's website, o2.co.uk/coveragechecker or any service issues at status.o2.co.uk

Vodafone to invest in services

Vodafone has insisted it is taking the responsibility to its customers in rural counties such as Shropshire very seriously.

Network chiefs say the firm is investing more than £1 billion in its infrastructure across the country and eventually 98 per cent of the UK population will receive coverage.

The network is launching a programme which aims to improve its service for rural customers in 100 communities across the UK. As a result of the petition, it is urging Shropshire residents to apply to be part of it.

It suggests it is a case of "time will tell" for Vodafone customers in Shropshire and Mid Wales who have complained about patchy coverage.

Spokesman Ally Stevens said: "We recognise the importance of mobile connectivity which is why we are spending more than £1 billion on our network across the country with a pledge to provide coverage to 98 per cent of the UK population using our 2G, 3G or 4G services.

"However, we are also very aware that two per cent of the population will not be covered by this pledge. This could be due to a number of reasons.

"As part of our ongoing initiative to bring mobile connectivity coverage to everyone, we are currently giving 100 rural communities across the UK the opportunity to apply for our Rural Open Sure Signal programme.

"The programme uses existing broadband services to deliver a reliable Vodafone 3G mobile signal. The small units used to deliver the service can be installed on the outside of any number of buildings including village halls, pubs, shops and homes.

"We urge communities across rural Shropshire to apply before November 7."

For more information on the programme visit vodafone.co.uk/rural

Three to improve coverage 'footprint' in Shropshire

Phone company Three has promised 2015 will be a good year for its Shropshire customers – and we will hold them to it.

Although the Shropshire Star received complaints from customers of all four major mobile phone networks as part of the Get Us Connected campaign, Three appeared to come under a little less fire than its rivals.

There is no concrete evidence to suggest Three provides the most reliable network coverage in the county but of the four providers in our petition responses and several case studies carried out during the campaign, it has been the least mentioned.

When we launched the petition in September, Tim Beckett, Mayor of Market Drayton, said: "The phone service in Shropshire, especially around Market Drayton, is very poor.

"The only network I've had no problems with is Three, which seems to work everywhere."

Three customers, however, still pay the same amount of money here as others across the country and while it might not be as bad in Shropshire, our petition responses suggest it can still be patchy in places.

In response, Three spokesman Nicholas Carter said: "We've got a couple of things in the pipeline which will improve the experience for customers in Shropshire.

"Firstly, we're adding a number of sites to our network across the county – in the north and south of the county, Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Atcham.

"This in itself will increase the coverage footprint of Three's network in the area. Secondly, we will be rolling out low frequency mobile spectrum which will also improve coverage, particularly for more rural areas of the county.

"So in 2015 Three customers in Shropshire will see an improvement in the coverage and experience they receive."