Gregory Stafford MP met with Vodafone recently discussing the latest results of his survey on mobile coverage across Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere, Liphook and the surrounding villages.
Ahead of the meeting, Gregory provided Vodafone with a list of specific addresses that had reported poor or substandard signal; Vodafone described this as "enormously helpful" as they mapped the addresses onto their live coverage database to further understand where the issues lie.
In the coming weeks, Vodafone will be merging with Three, which is set to bring an expanded network and give Vodafone's engineers a better understanding of what capacity they have to improve signal in the area.
Noticing some 'blackspots' in the constituency, particularly in the villages and more rural areas between Haslemere and Farnham, Gregory hopes to act as a facilitator of important conversations in future about the rollout of new and upgraded infrastructure.
After the meeting, he told constituents in his weekly newsletter:
I’ll be working with Vodafone to help open up conversations with landowners and local authorities to get the right kit in the right places. Every mobile operator I’ve spoken to has found the survey results extremely useful.
Coverage issues raised in more built-up areas, including central Farnham, are not going unnoticed. Vodafone have committed to bringing further updates on this specifically, after the coming merger with Three, meanwhile Gregory is taking up issues in Parliament over concerns of the impact of major new housing developments on the existing mobile networks. As such, he has submitted the following questions to the Deputy Prime Minister on the issue:
Click on each of the questions above to see the Government response.
Gregory will continue his meetings with other providers in the coming weeks.
