Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government and is calling for improvements to mobile signal coverage throughout Norfolk.
Overall greater mobile coverage is needed to provide better reliability. This include erecting more mobile signal masts and creating a simplified planning process to gain the necessary permissions. Another simple solution to improve existing coverage would be to allow mobile roaming across the existing network providers.
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“Norfolk Chamber wants to ensure that our business community is able to take advantage of new technology developments as they evolve and one of those key areas is the rise in the mobile office and the need by more business people to do business on the move. To do this we need more investment in our mobile signal infrastructure and changes in how the service providers operate i.e. roaming signals.”
A network of providers ensures that the majority of Norfolk receives mobile signal coverage. But no one provider can deliver a high percentage of overall signal coverage across the county. At present the providers do not allow seamless roaming between their networks – so every business user, no matter which network provides their service, suffers from unreliable mobile signal coverage in Norfolk. This effectively means that overseas visitors to Norfolk can expect better mobile coverage than local businesses and residents.
A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey showed that 83% of Norfolk business users experienced ‘not spots’; 43% had access to 4G; and more concerning, 11% of business users still only had access to 2G – voice calls only with no internet or data.
Neil Orford, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council and Partner at Lovewell Blake said:
“Nearly every Norfolk business person can give examples of the difficulties they have faced when trying to make business calls on their mobiles. We all know of local dead spots in and around commercial and residential areas and try to plan our mobile business calls accordingly. If we wish to be seen as a place to do business, we must continue to press for improvement in the service provided.”
