Moray MP Douglas Ross has welcomed a £1 billion funding package between the UK Government and mobile phone operators for a new Shared Rural Network (SRN) which will improve rural connectivity across Scotland and the UK, by boosting 4G coverage as providers work together to make black holes in coverage a thing of the past.
Commenting on the deal which will banish rural-not spots and provide high quality 4G to 95% of the UK by 2025, Douglas said: “This is great news for Moray and rural areas throughout Scotland which are set to benefit from this new network the most, which I know will be widely welcomed.
“In this day and age, it’s crucial that residents and businesses, particularly in rural areas, have access to good connectivity. This unique partnership between the UK Government and the four major mobile providers will ensure that happens.
“Time and again people have approached me at surgeries or in my constituency office complaining they have poor, or sometimes no mobile phone signal at all.
“This improved coverage will provide an important boost for them. I understand how frustrating it is for local people when they hear about further improvements made in areas that already have perfectly adequate coverage yet parts of Moray are still struggling to get any signal at all. I said since I was elected that improving mobile coverage in Moray would be a priority and this announcement is a positive step forward for the whole area.”
UK Government Secretary of State for Digital: Oliver Dowden MP continued: "For too many people in the countryside a bad phone signal is a daily frustration. So we're delivering on the Prime Minister's 100-day promise to get a £1 billion landmark deal signed with industry to end poor and patchy mobile rural coverage. This is an important milestone to level up the country, improve people’s lives and increase prosperity across the length and breadth of our United Kingdom".
Ben Roome, CEO of Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited added: “The Shared Rural Network is fantastic news for people who live and work in our beautiful countryside. In making it happen we'll listen to rural communities and strive to maximise the benefits it will bring."