Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of mobile signal coverage gaps in the West Midlands.

Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK through their Connected Nations Reports and Map Your Mobile tool. Utilising the Connected Nations data, trends in how coverage has evolved over time can be determined.

As of January 2026, by aggregating the coverage in the 30 local and unitary authorities in the West Midlands region, 93.6% of the West Midlands has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators (as defined by Ofcom), while standalone 5G is available outside of 93.2% of premises from at least one operator. This is means 4G coverage increased from 92.9% in July 2025, and standalone 5G coverage rose quite substantially from 80.5% over the same period.