OVER 700 residents responded to a phone signal survey after people reported to MP for Monmouthshire Catherine Fookes of struggling with this issue.

The survey results published by Catherine Fookes highlighted the widespread connectivity issue across the county.

The findings from the survey found that 72 per cent of respondents experience terrible to bad phone signal at home, with only 15.2 per cent reporting good or excellent signal.

Across local areas more broadly, 61.7 per cent reported terrible to bad signal, compared to just 14.1 per cent who said their signal was good or excellent.

Despite broadband connectivity being slightly better it still raised concern after 28.8 per cent said they experience terrible to bad broadband and 48.1 per cent reported good or excellent service.

Residents also shared the real-life impact of poor connectivity, which included people being unable to make calls in emergencies, missing important hospital or GP appointments, struggling to work from home, and farmer unable to complete essential online paperwork.

MP for Monmouthshire, Catherine Fookes, said: “Residents across Monmouthshire have been clear, phone signal is having a real impact on their daily lives.

“People should not be struggling to make calls in an emergency, missing important medical appointments, or unable to work from home because of poor connectivity.

“These results show just how widespread the problem is, and why action is urgently needed.”

Catherine has also started raising these issues in the UK Government and phone/broadband companies which has included raising the findings in Parliament and meeting with the Digital Economy Minister to share the survey results.

Catherine also had meetings with broadband providers and mobile network operators (Virgin Media O2, VodaphoneThree, BT EE) sharing postcodes of the wort affected areas – such as Trellech, Llangwm, Mamhilad and Llanthony.

With early progression already underway in some areas after concerns were raised by residents, Catherine’s office managed to help 10 households in Llandenny to full-fibre broadband through a bespoke solution with Openreach.

“This is just the start. I will now be sharing the full results and postcodes with Ministers and providers to keep up the pressure for improvements across Monmouthshire. I will encourage the sharing of masts and equipment as well as potential legislative changes to ensure we get the connectivity we need. Decent connectivity is not a luxury anymore, it’s essential,” said Catherine.