Shropshire phone coverage upgrade is too slow, say MPs

The comments come as Shropshire Star readers revealed that more than half are still living with poor or non-existent mobile phone coverage, with only nine per cent claiming they had seen any improvement in the last two years.

The Shropshire Star launched its Get Us Connected Campaign in 2014, calling for mobile phone companies to work harder to improve the signal in the county.

Chris Taylor, Shropshire Council's broadband manager, said they are investing in improvements but recognise more needs to be done.

He said: "Shropshire Council remains fully supportive of the Shropshire Star's efforts to highlight the need to address mobile phone coverage in Shropshire, which we recognise needs to be improved. The council remains fully committed to working with the Government, the mobile network operators and Ofcom to improve connectivity across the Shropshire Council area.

"To date Shropshire Council has invested more than £9m of capital funding to improve broadband in the Shropshire Council area. Over 60,000 premises can now access fibre broadband, with over 52,000 able to now get superfast broadband. The council remains fully committed to providing all remaining premises with access to superfast broadband. We are nearing the conclusion of the procurement to address the final gap areas, which we estimate as approximately 16,000 premises."

Owen Paterson, MP for north Shropshire, has long campaigned for the county to secure decent mobile and broadband coverage, and today said things are not moving forward quickly enough.

He said: "That is why I have had meetings with the chief executive of BT, the chief executive of EE and that is why we have had visits to the county, as well as meetings with the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership."

Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, added: "Progress has been made but internet speeds need to be faster and connectivity improved."

Meanwhile, John Maley, a spokesman for O2, insisted: "We are making excellent progress providing improved coverage and services across the Shropshire Star regions. Many areas have already benefited from new and upgraded sites giving improved capacity and coverage on our 3G and 4G services, including Llanfilangel-Nant-Melan, Llangurig, Telford, Shrewsbury, Bowbrook and Oswestry.

"Our network improvement programme is continuing throughout 2017 and we expect to launch 4G in more towns and villages including Prees in Shropshire, Llandrindod Wells and Caersws in Powys over the next few months."