Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd The Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Liz Saville Roberts has called on the UK government to provide an update on work to improve mobile connectivity and telecoms infrastructure in her rural constituency.

During a meeting in Westminster with Department of Culture, Media and Sports Minister, Chris Bryant MP, Mrs Saville Roberts sought clarity on several aspects of improving connectivity in a rural area, and the associated challenges this brings.

Mrs Saville Roberts, who has successfully lobbied for improvements in mobile phone signal across her constituency, urged the Minister to press the Home Office to activate several Extended Area Service (EAS) masts to improve coverage in remote areas and along major routes with limited or no mobile coverage, such as the A497, A487, A470, and A4212. 

She also raised concerns about the switch to a fully digital landline phone network which will use fibre-based technology instead of the current Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). This is causing concern amongst older people and those living in remote areas where problems with network coverage could leave communities without adequate telephone connectivity.

Commenting following her meeting, Liz Saville Roberts MP said:  

I was glad of the opportunity to meet with the new Minister to discuss progress on several important connectivity projects in my Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency and how best to address the challenges associated with delivering this vital work. I sought an update on the activation of several EAS masts, already built and designed to provide crucial emergency services and data coverage, significantly improving mobile signal in areas with no, or very limited coverage. The ongoing delay in activating these masts is depriving some of our most isolated communities of access to a reliable phone service and preventing the roll-out of emergency service coverage in the most dispersed parts of my constituency. I also raised concerns about the transition from copper landlines to a fully digital network and what measures are being put in place to protect elderly and vulnerable people and those who live in areas with no mobile signal from the specific challenges associated with fibre-based telephone networks. It was my understanding that customers identified as vulnerable, whether for health, age, or reasons of locality, would be delayed from switching until sufficient mitigation measures were in place. I want firm assurances that this is the case. Vulnerable people should be provided with the necessary mitigation equipment such as back-up batteries to maintain connectivity in the event of floods or prolonged electricity outages for example. I also pressed upon the Minister the importance of roaming in a very rural constituency such as Dwyfor Meirionnydd, where the terrain poses unique challenges. Simply being required to allow other providers to place equipment on masts is not sufficient in a national park, especially where planning permission limits the height and robustness of masts to accommodate multiple equipment. Our economy is dependent on tourism and people don’t choose their mobile provider on the grounds of where they’ll go on holiday, but they will still need to use their phones. In addition to these two matters, I made the point that rural areas should not be disproportionally disadvantaged when it comes to the roll-out of smart meters. I am aware of cases where smart meters have been installed in areas with no 2G signal which is clearly of no benefit to the customer.  Any initiative to expand the technological medium by which smart meters operate and enable people in remoter areas to take advantage of better energy contracts should be encouraged. I will keep lobbying the government on these specific matters so that residents, businesses, and visitors in Dwyfor Meirionnydd no longer suffer disproportionally when it comes to accessing digital connectivity.