Wrexham MP launches campaign to help Rossett residents struggling with mobile coverage

Wrexham’s Member of Parliament has launched a campaign to help Rossett residents struggling with poor mobile coverage.

Since being elected in 2019 Sarah Atherton MP has been contacted by a large number of residents in the village who are concerned about the lack of decent mobile coverage in the area.

Signal across several parts of Wrexham is notoriously bad, particularly around parts of the city centre and surrounding villages.

Poor mobile coverage not only affects economic, educational and leisure opportunities for local people, but also remains a significant barrier to growth for Wrexham County Borough.

In addition, the lack of good broadband coverage is also frequently raised as an issue in Rossett.

Sarah Atherton MP says the Rossett area ranks in the worst 30 per cent of areas in the UK for Superfast and Gigabit availability, and for being unable to receive decent broadband.

Commenting on the issue of poor mobile coverage in Rossett, Sarah Atherton MP said: “The issue is well known locally, with some residents complaining that if they want to send or receive texts, they have to go upstairs in their homes.

“I know personally how frustrating the various mobile ‘not-spots’ and signal dead zones are – particularly near the Rossett roundabout where my signal always drops.

“Ofcom’s “mobile checker” app predicts most Rossett postcodes are “ok” and “good” for indoor and outdoor voice coverage.

“Clearly, there are differences between the predictions and the reality, as this is not the reported experience of Rossett residents.”

Earlier this month Wrexham.com asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the poor mobile signal in the city and that some objections to improving the infrastructure to tackle the problem were from councillors in his own party. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Mr Sunak said: “Obviously, I wouldn’t be familiar with the precise details of a local planning application. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“I will add more generally, what the UK Government is doing is rolling out better mobile connectivity across the United Kingdom. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We’re investing hundreds of millions of pounds in something called the Shared Rural Network. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“So, those rural communities whether they’re in Wales, Scotland or England will benefit from better connectivity, that is happening as we speak. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Over the next couple of years, it will mean that the vast majority are getting the exact number 90 something percent of the UK landmass will have access to mobile phone coverage. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“That’s really important. I represent a rural area, plenty of communities in Wales will be rural like mine in North Yorkshire and the UK Government is going to provide connectivity for those communities. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

As a result of the mixed picture of broadband and mobile phone connectivity, Mrs Atherton wants to hear from residents in Rossett affected by poor mobile coverage or slow broadband.

To share your views, please email [email protected] and share as much detail as possible, including when and where you experience connectivity issues.