Debate contribution: Mobile Coverage in Rural Areas

Debate contribution by Mr Keith Buchanan on 24 September 2024.

MLA

Mr Keith Buchanan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

24 September 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Mobile Coverage in Rural Areas

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4644974

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Access to reliable and fast digital connectivity is essential to our rural communities and rural economies in all areas. It also allows people to stay in touch with friends and family. That connectivity should be affordable, and it is essential that we work collectively to deliver for our constituents. Constituents should have adequate coverage whether they live in rural, suburban or urban areas. Coverage varies in different parts of the country, with urban areas having better coverage, broadly, than rural areas. I have recently been in contact with O2, Virgin Media and Vodafone about coverage in Mid Ulster, and I will continue to liaise with all providers to ensure that not just constituents but those in the whole of Northern Ireland receive the necessary service. I have noticed recently that, in areas that once had it, good coverage has now disappeared. As Colin mentioned, we are all aware of the roads on which we will need to say to the person to whom we are talking, "I will ring you back, because I am going to lose signal". Something has changed. Things are happening, but I am not sure what. The signal has disappeared in areas where it was once good. For example, the A29 corridor had perfect coverage, but the signal now completely disappears on part of it. Something is changing. Areas such as Tobermore, Killeen, referred to by the Member who spoke previously, Ballyronan and Moneymore, to name but a few, have always had poor or no coverage. On a number of occasions, constituents trying to access their GP or a hospital have not been able to connect or their signal has dropped during the call. That is unacceptable. No region of the United Kingdom should be left behind. No part of Northern Ireland should be left feeling abandoned and disconnected. During the general election campaign, my party included in its manifesto the need for and benefits of the Shared Rural Network initiative, the aim of which is to ensure high-quality mobile coverage from the four main operators. In my constituency of Mid Ulster, however, my office consistently deals with cases in which mobile coverage is poor or non-existent. It was my party that secured the £150 million in 2017 and spearheaded the provision of full fibre broadband across Northern Ireland. We will continue to ensure that that roll-out is completed by the end of 2025. I will pick up on Cathal's point from earlier and say that a lot of places did not make it on to the whitelist. The Department of Finance can maybe answer the question of why its system did not put houses there on to a list, as they would then have gone on to the whitelist. I appreciate that that is a problem across Northern Ireland, but a lot of those buildings there did not exist on any list. The Department of Finance did not send that list across to the Department for the Economy. That is for another discussion on another day, however. We must build on this and ensure that we have proper and adequate mobile coverage for all communities. The provision of high-quality mobile coverage is essential in rural areas. It will not only help individuals make personal calls but allow businesses to stay in touch with suppliers and customers, whilst making everyday banking and electronic payments more accessible. Councils need to have clear guidance and the capacity to handle planning applications that are integral to developing SRN projects and investing in new digital infrastructure in rural areas. We need coverage, but we do not need unnecessary masts, which Andrew and John touched on. Providers are moving from traditional hilltop masts to roadside poles. I am no telecommunications engineer, but I know that recent applications to Mid Ulster District Council were not optimising the mast share or site share part of the policy. Everybody seems to want their own. Providers are not site sharing or mast sharing as they should be, and councils are not aware of the issue. It is not for every provider to have its own mast. We see that in the move from traditional hilltop to roadside masts, which is being done to prevent payment to landowners, and that reduces signal quality. It is something of which councils are not aware, so a wee bit of work needs to be done on that. I look forward to the Minister's comments on the issue and the steps that he, along with Executive colleagues, can take to address the problem.

753 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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