Rwandans get better mobile phone service than us, claims island MP

A SCOTTISH island MP has called for improvements to be made to the mobile phone network in the Outer Hebrides, claiming coverage there is even worse than in Rwanda.

Angus MacNeil, a Scottish Nationalist MP, yesterday met with officials from watchdog Ofcom following a survey carried out by his office on signal strength in the Western Isles.

Mr MacNeil said: “For years the Outer Hebrides have been overlooked by the regulators and our mobile phone service is a prime example of it.

“While the Irish, Faroese and even Rwandans, enjoy full coverage no matter where they are in their countries, we find our communication stifled by regulations that benefit the mobile companies rather than phone users.”

He said Ofcom’s commitment to reach 95 per cent of the UK population was not good enough.

“Five per cent of the UK population is approximately three million people – that’s a small country of people who Ofcom have left out in the cold.

“Clearly, companies have and will continue to overlook us until they have a clear message from the regulator.”

An Ofcom spokeswoman said: “We recognise that this is a significant issue for consumers and businesses and we continue to carry out work in this area.”

The watchdog said it was carrying out a programme of work on the issue including technical assessments of coverage, removing barriers to improvements and seeking to increase competition.

Rwanda, in east-central Africa, has a population of 8.3 million.