MP encouraging Orkney folk to back mobile coverage campaign

Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael is encouraging local people to get involved with a new Countryside Alliance campaign designed to create a mobile coverage map.

The campaign asks smartphone users to download the Cell Phone Coverage Map app and to record coverage strength for calls and mobile broadband. As more information is gathered, a clearer picture will emerge of the state of mobile coverage in the UK.

Mr Carmichael said: “We all know that mobile signal in the Northern Isles can be very poor and at best is patchy. This app provides local people with an excellent opportunity to gain some hard evidence of the true depth of the problem.

“I have brought representatives of regulators and phone companies up to the Northern Isles in the past to highlight the ongoing problem of poor mobile reception. The lack of progress that mobile companies are making is still disappointing. The sort of evidence that this app will gather should be invaluable in strengthening our case for better coverage.”