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UK Businesses Go Grumpy Over Poor 4G Mobile Reception and “Not Spots”

Friday, May 12th, 2017 (12:37 pm) - Score 856

A new survey of 1,465 UK businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce has found that 70% of firms have suffered Mobile “not spots” (no signal) or “partial not-spots” (basic cover via only some networks), while 91% of those who suffered such issues are rural based (falls to 56% for urban firms).

The vast majority (96%) of those surveyed were small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), while 22% operated in the manufacturing sector and 78% in the services sector. Overall 42% of businesses were able to get a 4G connection and 29% claimed to suffer from unreliable Mobile Broadband connections (rising to 54% in rural areas).

The results aren’t terribly surprising, particularly since 6% of companies typically only obtain a bog standard 2G signal and 25% will generally only connect via 3G. The study noted that urban based businesses were more likely to have a 4G signal (54%) than those in rural areas (25%) and this is particularly true for big businesses (57% of firms with more than 500 employees connected via 4G but then those are more likely to be urban based).

Sadly only 41% of the smallest businesses (1-4 employees) were able to get 4G. The study appears to support recent research from OpenSignal (here and here), which found that what primary Mobile Network Operators (e.g. Three UK, Vodafone, O2 and EE) claim, in terms of network availability or performance, and what people receive are often two very different things.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the BCC, said:

“All across the country businesspeople complain about patchy mobile coverage and unreliable internet connections in their local areas. Time and again, I hear from frustrated businesspeople who can’t use their mobiles or access the internet when they need to – basic requirements for companies to work on the move, trade online, and connect with customers and suppliers.

Rural businesses are particularly affected by poor mobile coverage and connectivity, but our research shows that ‘not-spots’ are prevalent across the UK. It’s incredible to hear that in this day and age there are even places in the City of London where businesses can’t get reliable coverage.

Some of the solutions are obvious. Relaxing planning laws to allow for taller masts would be a quick win for the next government to help improve mobile coverage.”

Ofcom and the Government hope that virtually all UK premises should be able to receive a 4G signal by the end of 2017, although that commitment only reflects population and not geographic (landmass) coverage. The operator with the most advanced 4G cover is EE and they currently reach 80% of the UK’s landmass (99% population), which should rise to 92% by September 2017 and then 95% by the end of December 2020.

However the BCC believes that Ofcommust do more to hold providers to account” and they warn that otherwise the United Kingdom will be left “lagging in the delivery of access to a world-class digital infrastructure … The Chamber Network’s election manifesto specifically calls for these issues to be rectified, and for the next government to provide all businesses with super-fast and reliable broadband and mobile connectivity to boost confidence and productivity,” said Marshall.

Mark-Jackson
By Mark Jackson
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook and .
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