Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to enhance mobile phone reception in Maidstone and Malling constituency.

Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from mobile connectivity.

Ofcom’s reporting shows that 92% of the pre-boundary change constituency area has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, and that basic (non-standalone) 5G is available from at least one mobile operator outside 99% of premises.

I am aware that Ofcom’s data does not always reflect consumers’ experience of mobile networks. I recently wrote to Ofcom, asking them to set out steps to improve their reporting.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition.