Calls for better mobile signal gather strength

Councillors have appealed for residents and businesses to identify areas where signal is particularly poor.

A spokesperson for the council said: “There have been far more comments than expected highlighting the difficulties and disadvantages suffered by the community as a direct result of the current woeful signal in many areas.

“Businesses have made comments advising that lack of proper signal has a detrimental impact on their ability to conduct their activities properly.”

The council has been plotting people’s responses on an online map.

Examples of businesses affected include builders unable to contact suppliers when on site, difficulty remaining in contact with other work colleagues and the inability of delivery drivers to contact their control points and customers, according to the council.

It also highlighted problems with processing payments for goods or services using mobile systems which could be a greater problem for businesses in the future as a result of the growth of payments via smartphones which increased by 54 per cent during 2015.

The spokesperson added: “It will be necessary to overcome the resistance of the mobile network providers which maintain that overall signal is good and as recent investigations suggest that the demographics of the community do not fit the profile that would encourage providers to invest in better infrastructure there could be yet another obstacle to overcome in achieving the objective.”

Following the completion of the independent testing of signal strength the parish council anticipates meeting with Ofcom to discuss the results and seek guidance on the way forward.

In the meantime they welcome feedback from anyone who has not yet done so in order to emphasise the level of dissatisfaction of those unhappy with the mobile phone service.

Members of the public can provide feedback on the Storrington and Sullington Parish Council website

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