Rural MPs accuse regulator of ‘gaslighting’ countryside communities | Politics | News
Rural MPs accused regulator Ofcom and mobile operators of “gaslighting” rural communities over the signal coverage situation. They warned that official statistics did not reflect daily reality in much of Britain. MPs argued dropped calls, dead zones and faulty card machines remained routine, despite official data showing progress.
Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said one constituent told her: “Finding 4G is like finding gold.” He added that rural residents “have to put up with being warned by companies saying the signal is good,” although their daily experience suggests otherwise. Gaslighting means when someone manipulates you into doubting your reality.
John Lamont, Conservative MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, said unreliable news was “deepening the divide between rural and urban Britain”, adding that rural communities “don’t want special treatment, only fair treatment”.
Regulator Ofcom’s latest Connected Nations report showed urban 5G site coverage at 48% and suburban 38%, while rural coverage increased only marginally from 16% to 20%, with just 5% of rural areas offering standalone 5G.
It has previously been suggested that Labor risks deepening the UK’s worsening rural connectivity crisis by expanding plans to cut rents paid to landowners who host mobile phone masts.
The Electronic Communications Act (ECC) of 2017 changed how mobile mast rental rates are calculated by replacing market-rate rents with a “non-scheduled” valuation to make it cheaper and faster for operators to build and upgrade networks, especially for 5G.
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This reform led to significant rent reductions for some landowners, sparking disputes and, according to some critics, slowing infrastructure development.
Somerset farmer Roger Foxwell, who has owned the masts for more than 25 years, said rents on his remaining sites had fallen by around 90 per cent since the 2017 reforms.
He added: “This income has helped support the farm and cover rising costs. “I’m proud to be home to the infrastructure that connects rural areas, but landowners have no official way to air their complaints or question how operators are behaving. “We feel like we have no voice.”
Ministers have been warned they are continuing to expand the mast regime despite strained relations and “growing evidence” that coverage of the countryside is uneven.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We know that mobile companies’ predictions are not always accurate at a very local level.”
The regulator has released a tool called Map Your Mobile which uses crowdsourced data to “better reflect the experience people can expect in their area”.
