Mobile phone signal in central London is deteriorating, with data services suffering from 'bottlenecks' on the network, The Standard can reveal. Londoners are experiencing poor quality service due to a 'perfect storm' of fewer antenna sites caused by housing developments, planning delays, and an increase in tall buildings.
Data usage, rather than phone calls, is primarily impacted, making it harder to use websites, stream videos, and access WhatsApp messages. The West End, the City, Westminster, and Tower Hamlets are the areas most affected. Crowded spots near busy Tube and rail stations often face the worst issues due to capacity shortfalls.
Professor Robert Joyce, director of mobile access engineering at O2, stated: 'Mobile connectivity is critical to how people live and work. But in London, essential equipment is being removed faster than it can be replaced, with planning rules pummelling mobile coverage in the capital.' Other operators are similarly affected, often sharing sites.
Trade body Mobile UK has raised alarms with the government, noting a significant increase in 'Notice to Quits' from landowners, particularly in high-density areas like London. This leads to immediate coverage gaps and degraded network quality. Professor Joyce highlighted that London has fewer antenna sites per person than cities like Manchester and Leeds, making it difficult to find rooftop locations.
Virgin Media O2 currently has over 50 sites offline in London, leaving busy areas 'blighted by poor quality mobile coverage.' The company partly blames an 'outdated planning system' that hampers efforts to meet 20% annual growth in mobile data traffic. On average, it takes two-and-a-half years to replace a site, with some offline for over seven years.
In some cases, operators resort to temporary 'stop gap' sites after receiving notices to quit from developers. However, other parts of London, including Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, and Beckton, are seeing improvements as they are upgraded with 5G technology.
To address the bottlenecks, communication chiefs are calling for planning reforms, such as allowing temporary sites for 36 months instead of 18, reducing full planning consent requirements, and increasing permitted antenna numbers for faster 4G and 5G upgrades. Gareth Elliott of Mobile UK said: 'The critical connectivity gaps opening up across our cities, and particularly in London, are a stark wake-up call that outdated planning rules are undermining our digital foundations faster than operators can rebuild them.'
A Government spokesperson commented: 'Access to high-quality, reliable 5G networks is essential to boosting our economy and delivering services fit for modern life. That’s why we’ve been exploring targeted planning reforms to speed up telecoms infrastructure rollout.'
