Selby MP pledges to hold operators to account on signal improvement promises

Speaking after the completion of a merger between Vodafone and Three, Keir Mather

MP says that he will hold the operators' feet to the fire as he continues his campaign for

better phone signal in the Selby area.

The Member of Parliament for Selby and Kippax has long campaigned for improved

phone signal in his constituency, and believes that the completion of a merger between

two of the UK's largest networks is a "welcome step" towards delivering signal

improvements for customers.

In recent weeks, residents across the Selby area have experienced power cuts. It has

been widely reported that power outages also see a concurrent loss of phone signal in

many of the impacted rural villages, something that Mr Mather describes as

"dangerously isolating", particularly for older residents. This issue was brought to the

MP's attention at a public meeting he arranged in February, where residents from

villages like Hambleton, Thorpe Willoughby and North Duffield were invited to share

their experiences with representatives of Northern Powergrid.

Discussing the meeting, Mr Mather said:

“The feedback we received from those who attended the event was that, when a power

cut occurs, mobile signal is also lost, suggesting that the outages are also impacting

phone masts in the area. The impact of this loss of connectivity is obvious. It means that

local people are left isolated, unable to receive text updates from electricity suppliers

and, crucially, to contact friends, families or emergency services. It is not acceptable

and needs to be sorted.”

It follows a wider campaign run by the Selby and Kippax MP to push for improvements.

For some customers, mobile data is essentially unusable in the Selby area, a concern

Mr Mather raised with the Minister for Digital Infrastructure Chris Bryant MP after taking

operators to task. Mr Mather went on to state:

"What is really concerning is that the signal strength suggested by operator-run 'signal

checkers' bears little resemblance to what my constituents experience every day. I

asked North Yorkshire Council to test signal strength in the Staynor Hall area, and their

findings were clear - the signal strength was nowhere near good enough for the year

2025, particularly as we move towards the landline switch off in the years ahead."

In recent months, Mr Mather has welcomed improvements put forward by Vodafone,

including a power increase at one of the local masts in an attempt to improve coverage.

The merger of Vodafone and Three is widely expected to deliver boosts to phone signal,

and the Selby MP has indicated his commitment to making sure that the operators

follow through with these pledges.

"The merger of these companies should allow existing customers to benefit from access

to both networks, something which we hope will deliver much-needed signal

improvements to Selby. I'll continue to lobby both VodafoneThree and other operators to

improve their level of service here - customers are paying through the teeth for a service

which too often just doesn't work.

"Where mergers like this one are approved by the Competition and Markets Authority,

it's vitally important that elected representatives hold them to account on what they've

said the deal will deliver. People in Selby and Kippax have my full assurance that I get

the importance of this issue and that I won't give up on this campaign until we see a

proper service in our towns and villages."