Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve mobile phone coverage in Dumfries and Galloway.

According to Ofcom's Connected Nations 2017 report (published on 15 December 2017), indoor premises voice coverage by at least one Mobile Network Operator (MNO) was 97% (with 63% from all four MNOs) in Dumfries and Galloway, while indoor premises data coverage was 96% (51% from all four).

However, the Government recognises that there is still more to do to improve coverage. That is why we reformed the Electronic Communications Code in 2017, to make it cheaper to install digital infrastructure and this should help improve coverage in the UK, including Scotland. We also welcome the Scottish Government's planning reforms introduced in 2017 that follow our 2016 reforms in England to support infrastructure rollout. We are committed to having good quality coverage where people live, work and travel and welcome that Ofcom is considering new licence obligations for rural coverage as part of the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction.