Mast Removal in Hebden Bridge Leaves O2 and Vodafone UK Users Without Signal

Residents and businesses in the West Yorkshire (England) market town of Hebden Bridge, which is home to 4,500 people, have been warned that they could suffer from weak to non-existent mobile signals on O2 and Vodafone’s network, potentially lasting into early 2026, after a local mobile mast was suddenly removed.

“I live in Hebden Bridge and as of Monday 20th October, I noticed when out walking my dog, that my mobile signal was gone for O2. After a nose on the local Facebook group, it quickly turned out this was also affecting Vodafone users, but not users of the EE network,” said local resident Ben to ISPreview.

Some indirect feedback from Cornerstone, which manages the mast in question, indicates that the situation stemmed from a dispute with the site’s landowner. O2 later confirmed to ISPreview that the mast’s removal was due to the landlord’s decision, albeit without providing further context.

The situation has left the two mobile operators hurrying to find a replacement site, and a new application has now been placed with the local planning authority. But such things are rarely a rapid process and could still face opposition or other obstacles before deployment can even begin.

Josh Fenton-Glynn, MP for the Calder Valley, said (Halifax Courier):

“Lots of people have been in touch with me about the issues with phone signal around Hebden and Mytholmroyd following the removal of a nearby mast.

We rely on our phones for so much, it is completely unacceptable that thousands have been abruptly left without a service.

Various dates have been mentioned to customers in terms of providing updates, including January 2026. This isn’t good enough – residents and businesses are paying for a service that is not being provided.

Today I have written to the relevant networks explaining what has happened and urging them to fix this as a matter of urgency.

I’ve also asked them to keep customers updated and provide details of compensation available.”

The mobile operators are known to have boosted their signals from other nearby sites, but this won’t be enough to reach everybody and performance for some is likely to remain degraded until a new site can go live.

An O2 spokesperson told ISPreview:

“We apologise to customers in the Hebden Bridge area who may be experiencing issues with their mobile service after a mast in the region was recently removed at the landlord’s request. We’re working urgently to identify a new site and, in the meantime, put a temporary solution in place to minimise disruption for customers.

We’d recommend customers ensure they have Wi-Fi calling enabled on their device so they’re able to make and receive calls and text messages over any broadband network.”

One of the biggest frustrations in all this is with regard to the lack of advanced notice about the situation. The mobile operators could have informed locals before its occurrence, but instead left customers to scramble for answers.

The situation probably isn’t helped by the fact that the town sits in a crisscrossing valley, which makes it difficult to reach every part of the area without the use of multiple mast sites.