Despite official claims that mobile phone coverage is steadily improving, rural Britain continues to struggle with dead zones and dropped calls, MPs have warned.
During a House of Commons debate on connectivity, MPs accused Ofcom and mobile phone operators of failing to reflect the everyday realities of rural life, where card machines frequently lose signal, calls are dropped and reliable 4G is hard to find.
They said rural communities felt ignored because of the gap between what statistics suggest and residents’ experiences.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said one constituent told her: “Finding 4G is like digging for gold.”
She said rural residents “have to put up with gaslighting from corporations that tell them traffic lights are okay,” even though daily experience suggests otherwise.
Morgan argued that only “strongly enforced financial penalties” could compel carriers to make appropriate improvements to rural coverage.
Conservative MP John Lamont, who represents Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, warned that unreliable connectivity was “deepening the divide between rural and urban England”.
He stressed that rural areas “are not asking for special treatment, only fair treatment.”
Ofcom’s latest Connectednation report highlights the scale of the disparity. 5G site coverage in urban areas has reached 48%, while in suburban areas it is only 38%.
However, rural coverage has increased only modestly by 16-20%, with only about 5% of rural sites offering full standalone 5G.
MPs warned that poor reception is not just an inconvenience, it has a serious negative impact on local economies, impacting small businesses, tourism and even basic day-to-day operations.
In some villages, pubs and shops remain unable to rely on card payments as connections are cut without warning.
Landowners and rural groups say the problem is rooted in policy as well as geography.
The 2017 amendments to the Electronic Communications Act changed the way carriers pay to host mobile infrastructure, moving to a “rating without system” model.
In many cases, this has reduced rents by up to 90% and made it possible to restart long-standing contracts.
The changes were intended to reduce costs and accelerate deployment for carriers, but they have also led to a spike in disputes and lawsuits and a chilling relationship between carriers and site providers.
A recent survey of 500 landowners across the UK found that around one in three would consider withdrawing from infrastructure development if the scheme was extended further.
Nevertheless, the Government confirmed in April that it intends to extend the framework to a further 15,000 sites under Part 2 of the Product Security and Communications Infrastructure Act.
Former Cornish farmer Bill Clark said: “I am extremely disappointed that the government has decided to extend this destructive policy that is already causing real harm to landowners like me.”
He explained that in 1997, when he was running a dairy farm and milk processing business, he agreed to install a communications mast because connectivity was essential for trading with supermarkets.
“The rent was £4,800 a year with clear protections and an agreement that the rent would rise as demand increased,” he said.
But under the new system, he said, his offer was reduced to £1,500, leaving him with little choice but to accept a much lower rent or face a legal battle he could not afford to pay.
“What makes matters worse is that there is no proper framework for landowners to challenge our treatment,” he added, warning that many have “lost complete faith in the system”.
Industry and rural groups say ministers are pushing ahead despite growing evidence of tensions and rural coverage remaining weak.
They argue that the government relies too much on data reported by businesses while giving residents and landowners no formal means to challenge poor practices.
Campaigners are calling on ministers to bring Article 70 into force before it is expanded further. The measure will create a statutory complaints mechanism, allowing people to raise concerns directly with Ofcom.
Without this, they warn, the UK risks entrenching a two-tier mobile network. Progress is being recorded on paper there, but rural areas are still stuck searching for a working signal.
