CEREDIGION’S representatives have been highlighting the issue of poor mobile phone signal and slow internet speeds across the county.

Mark Williams MP has raised the failure of the Government’s ‘Mobile Infrastructure Project’ in the House of Commons during a Welsh Affairs debate on Thursday, 3 March, while Elin Jones AM has welcomed a report which calls for more investment in fibre internet technology among other measures.

Mark pointed out that the government’s flagship project, which runs until the end of this month, had failed to deliver on promises to improve mobile infrastructure in rural areas where it would not be deemed commercially viable by the major mobile network operators.

“Despite the grand predictions that were made about the benefits rural communities would receive from the Mobile Infrastructure Project, we have not seen many of these benefits in Ceredigion,” Mr Williams told MPs.

“In our county, out of the 24 sites identified for new masts to alleviate the problem of mobile ‘not spots’, only three will be achieved by the end of the project.

“Nationwide across the UK, 600 masts were identified for development, yet only 50 will have been built.

“There is no doubt that this has been an absolute failure, and rural areas like ours will continue to suffer from a lack of basic infrastructure.

“Ceredigion, with its vibrant, innovative, creative and entrepreneurial spirit, is being held back by the failure to provide adequate infrastructure to help small businesses and our economy grow.”

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