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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

Mobile phone coverage is vital for rural businesses and households. 99% of premises already receive 2G coverage. However 21% of the UK’s landmass has coverage from only one or two mobile operators. This affects around 1.5 million people living in areas with patchy coverage, who not only receive a worse service than other consumers, but also have a limited choice of providers and packages. People travelling into these areas are also affected.

A consultation into tackling partial not-spots closed on 26 November. I am also in discussions with the mobile industry to agree a voluntary solution, which remains my preference.