Member News
By Jim Hume MSP - 27th October 2010
Jim Hume MSP writes for ePolitix.com on mobile phone coverage in rural areas.
The inadequacies in mobile phone coverage in the more rural and remote corners of Scotland are a problem only too familiar to those who live and work in such areas. As a regional MSP for the South of Scotland, I have personal experience of the frustrations of trying to remain in contact with the outside world.
Indeed, the staff in my office in Edinburgh has become accustomed to having to redial my number and start the conversation all over again.
A cursory glance at the mobile phone coverage maps of Scotland will show vast swathes of 'white' areas where coverage is essentially non-existent. To those not fortunate enough to live in the strip of land encompassing Central Scotland, coverage can be something of a lottery.
I noted with interest the recent report published by the Commission for Rural Communities in England which highlighted that 'patchy' mobile phone coverage was damaging small businesses, a motivating factor for young people leaving the countryside and rendering some families unable to contact help in an emergency. The same is certainly true north of the border as well.
Having good coverage in rural areas is vital to ensuring that small, rural businesses are able to remain competitive and not disadvantaged against their urban based rivals. Poor coverage can lead to important business calls being missed resulting in delay or loss of business. The Federation of Small Businesses recognise this and are supportive of moves to improve mobile phone coverage in 'not-spots' throughout Scotland.
I also understand that the Scottish Chamber of Commerce have expressed their concerns over the ability of some Scottish businesses to be able to access high speed data transfer services such as 3G mobile technology. They have argued that our digital communications infrastructure will in future come to be just as important as our transport network. It is such forward-thinking that is needed to ensure that we not only remain competitive internationally but, as I argued earlier, provide rural businesses with the ability to compete.
While the economic ramifications of poor mobile phone coverage are obvious and important, it is also worth considering how important mobile phones can be in maintaining public safety. While conducting research before the debate, I contacted the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team to seek their opinions on the quality of mobile phone coverage.
They revealed that they use pagers to call their team members out to an emergency because of the unreliability of coverage in certain areas and that, from their experience, the coverage in the hills of Iceland was far superior to what can be expected in Scotland. Mobile phones can prove instrumental in a rescue due to the ability to locate someone stranded by using 'cell triangulation' which reduces the risk to searchers and can save on countless personnel hours.
In a financial climate which is proving to be so challenging for many businesses, we must ensure that businesses, no matter where they may be located, are not hindered in their attempts to achieve success.
Improving mobile phone coverage will go a long way to ensuring the competitiveness of rural businesses and ending the isolation that many communities feel. It is a matter of some importance for many people throughout Scotland and I intend to make representations to the Scottish Government, and mobile phone network providers, to ask that they work together to turn those 'not-spots' into signal 'hot-spots'.
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