Maps show up lack of mobile coverage in Shropshire

Ofcom today unveiled a new mapping service that illustrates the strength of mobile signal in the UK, and the swathes of white space on the maps provide a sad indicator of the speed of the roll-out of the new, superfast web service.

The maps leave nowhere to hide for mobile phone companies who are considered to be short-changing people in Shropshire when it comes to the quality of their service.

Shrewsbury: Unsurprisingly for the county town, reception across all networks tends to be fine when you're making phone calls, and 3G coverage is consistent throughout the town – although it can still be patchy on the outskirts.

While phone coverage isn't too bad, all the networks have ground to make up when it comes to superfast 4G, and Vodafone and O2 provide no coverage at all. EE's coverage is most widespread, but still patchy when you're indoors, and Three provides a scattering of signal.

Telford & Wrekin: As a borough with almost 150,000 residents, not far from the densely populated West Midlands conurbation, it's little surprise to see a consistent mobile signal in Telford & Wrekin, and 3G coverage is pretty solid too.

But 4G reception is oddly patchy, with Vodafone offering spits and spots of coverage, O2 drawing a near-blank, and Three and EE offering the best service.

Market Drayton: The people of Market Drayton have the most choice of any 4G signal seekers in Shropshire, as it is the only town with consistent coverage from Vodafone and O2, as well as EE. Three is the only network which falls short.

But pity their neighbours in Whitchurch, whose pricey 4G packages are giving little value, as none of the major four networks are delivering consistent superfast signal for the town.

Ludlow: It may be a rural town, but mobile users around Ludlow must still be frustrated at the quality of their mobile phone signal.

The Ofcom map shows that swathes of the surrounding countryside are painted red – indicating poor coverage – when it comes to making calls, even if the town itself is better served. The 3G coverage is best classified as "patchy", with O2's coverage scarce, and 4G is all but a pipe dream for users of all four networks.

Oswestry: Venture west of Oswestry and you are heading into an area where making a call is difficult, and 3G mobile internet is barren.

The town itself receives similar coverage for calls from all networks, and all networks offer 3G – although expect it to drop out between Oswestry and Chirk if you use Vodafone. You can expect little 4G coverage, however, with only EE coming close to the town – and even that network fails to cover the town centre.

Bishop's Castle: Yes, it's one of Shropshire's more remote locations, but the border town of Bishop's Castle is badly served for mobile coverage. O2 users should not expect reliable coverage in the town centre, although the other three providers should give you a call signal.

But only EE and Three offer 3G signal, and expect a 20 minute drive to the Stiperstones if you want to get any mileage from your 4G contract.

They provide detailed data for every corner of the county, separating out the quality of reception for all four major mobile phone operators – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.

They demonstrate the strength of 3G coverage, as well as faster 4G, and also the coverage in different areas when you're simply making or receiving a phone call.

In a nutshell, the maps suggest that EE and Three provide the most widespread 3G and 4G internet coverage in Shropshire.

Three fares less well when it comes to voice calls, though, particularly in the south of the county.

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson said coverage in the county is actually getting worse. "We are seeing a quite a sharp deterioration across the networks," he said. "I have used all three of the main providers and they are increasingly bad.

"There's such a deluge of extra data – people sending videos, photographs, posting on Twitter – on a network that was originally just thought to be for voice messages. It's getting worse every week."

He questioned whether Ofcom's mapping was showing the scale of the problem. His own network, Vodafone, is considered to have clear coverage for most of North Shropshire. That, Mr Paterson said, does not stack up with his own experience, and he has written to the networks and spoken to Shropshire Council about the problem.

"I don't believe these maps at all," he said. "I do believe that I'm going round Shropshire the whole time going completely Tonto. Vodafone doesn't cover the whole of North Shropshire at all."

O2 has promised to upgrade its service in Shropshire after being contacted by the Shropshire Star over its poor performance in Ofcom's map, and says it uses its own mapping to keep up to speed on the quality of its service.

To see the maps go to ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage