Former minister Tom Tugendhat has launched stinging criticism of the mobile phone reception in London, saying it is worse than in Kabul a decade ago.
Tugendhat's experience in Dulwich
The MP for Tonbridge, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan, tore into the poor signal in parts of London. "I'm in Dulwich. One of the more expensive areas of London, supposedly a global city, and I'm getting worse mobile phone reception than I did in Kabul a decade ago," he posted on X.
The ex-security minister added: "I pay for two contracts: @O2 and @EE and neither is reliable so I can't work. Mobile phones are useless in vast areas of Britain and have got worse. You can never work on a train, unlike in France."
O2's response
Responding to Mr Tugendhat, O2 messaged back: "We're sorry to hear your signal has been so unreliable recently. We understand how frustrating that is when you're just trying to stay connected. Signal can sometimes be affected even when coverage looks strong, for example, by local mast work, temporary faults, or congestion in busy areas."
But Mr Tugendhat stormed back: "Don't pretend this is temporary. This is universal. It's constant. I've spoken to your teams about it in Kent for years and you do nothing."
Root causes of poor signal
Communication chiefs blame the mobile reception problems in London on a "perfect storm" of fewer antenna sites caused by housing and other developments, as well as planning delays, and more tall buildings being built in the capital. Data, rather than phone calls, is being impacted, making it harder to use websites, stream videos, and access WhatsApp messages.
Areas badly affected include the West End, the City, Westminster, and Tower Hamlets, but Mr Tugendhat's comments show other parts of the capital are also impacted. Busy areas, such as near busy Tube and rail stations, often have the worst signal "bottlenecks" due to capacity shortfalls on the network.
Industry concerns
Trade body Mobile UK has raised with the Government the fact that antenna sites are having to be removed due to developments in the capital faster than they can be replaced. The capital currently has fewer antenna sites per person than cities such as Manchester and Leeds. Operators have dozens of sites offline in London and replacing some of them can take up to seven years.
To tackle the "bottlenecks," operators are calling for reforms to planning rules, including being able to use a temporary site for 36 months rather than 18, reducing the number of applications requiring full planning consent, and increasing the number of antennas permitted under existing rules to enable faster 4G and 5G upgrades.
Areas with improving service
In some parts of the capital, including in Walthamstow, Wimbledon, Wandsworth, and Beckton, east London, the mobile phone service is improving as it is upgraded with the latest 5G technology.
Government response
A Government spokesperson said: "Access to high-quality, reliable 5G networks is essential to boosting our economy and delivering services which are fit for modern life. That's why we've been exploring targeted planning reforms to speed up the rollout of telecoms infrastructure - including making it easier to temporarily relocate masts when sites are lost, and expanding permitted development rights."
