Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to compare the quality of consumer mobile phone signal in specific geographic areas against the quality of service assurances published by mobile network providers.

The regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. Ofcom’s reporting in their Connected Nations reports and the coverage maps available in the ‘Map Your Mobile’ tool, is based primarily on coverage predictions from the mobile network operators (MNOs).

The Map Your Mobile tool includes crowdsourced data that indicates network performance at a postcode district level. In parallel, through the Mobile Market Review, Government is exploring how ‘good’ quality coverage and quality of service should be defined.

If a consumer believes that the service they receive does not reflect the coverage or service information provided by their operator, they should contact their provider. Providers are required to have clear complaints procedures and to be members of an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme.