Get Us Connected: We're still hanging on in Shropshire

But in Shropshire, some people still can't even get signal to send a text, let alone make a phone call or get online.

It's left many people wondering what the point is in having a mobile phone at all.

For the last three years, the county has consistently been promised better service, better connection and better coverage.

But we still haven't been able to see these improvements.

The battle began with mobiles but as Shropshire continues to expand businesses are now fighting poor broadband coverage as well.

Lack of coverage, slow internet connection, and poor signal is plaguing the county.

Areas are described as "dead zones" and "black spots" – usually as soon as you get out of the county's town centre areas.

Travelling round the county to find out what the situation is now, I was able to experience it first hand.

As expected, it was a frustrating pattern of the signal being fine in the major towns before disappearing entirely along the main roads connecting them.

Texts struggled to send and it was impossible to make calls at all in some areas.

Yet providers continue to say they are finding solutions, with pledges to built masts and upgrade existing equipment regularly making headlines.

A new one was only put up in Baschurch days ago with further plans to put one in the countryside between Pontesbury and Minsterley.

Meanwhile, EE just last month announced that it would be bringing 4G coverage to 92 per cent of the UK this year.

The news came following a meeting with North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, who said the "appalling, deteriorating mobile phone signal is inconvenient at best, life-endangering at worst".

BT Openreach boss Clive Selley, as well as EE representatives, visited the county to witness the problems for themselves.

Mr Selley even admitted his surprise at the lack of connectivity in the county's countryside and another pledge was made to the county that he would find solutions to the rural county's connectivity problems.

But for some the attention is proving too little too late.

Our survey shows that 18 per cent of people have considered leaving the county because of the terrible phone signal.

And the broadband problems have led to 16 per cent thinking about moving elsewhere.

Some 33 per cent think phone coverage has actually got worse over the last two years, while 26 per cent think the same about broadband.

A lot have complained while some have switched between a few providers in the hope that surely one can give some signal.

Many are provided with "signal boosters", which generally have to be run through wifi.

It's a problem for those who also suffer with broadband issues, too.

So after years of promises, some are giving up using phones altogether, while others are left without hope that things will ever get better.

It's about time coverage of the county was sorted before it starts to have a detrimental effect on our economy and forces people to move out the area.

Whitchurch

Problems had been persistent in Whitchurch, especially in the most rural parts of the area. It seems that now the town is a mixed bag – some are happy, some still want improvements.

Anusha Mandadi, 29, works at Green End Dental Practice in Whitchurch. She says that while signal isn't bad, it doesn't compare to back home in Lawley, Telford.

She said: "I'm on Three and it's quite bad. It's not too bad, but it is not great. Right now I've got three out of five bars and I don't see it's a problem but it's not always like that.

"I've only been here for eight months and I was previously with Vodafone. People are still having to rely on landlines though.

"In Telford it is absolutely perfect, it is really very good. It is just in Whitchurch if I have any problems."

Glyn Jones, 46, lives on Queensway in the town. He says it's terrible around the north of Shropshire and has to rely on wifi.

He said: "O2 just doesn't work around this area, it has always been the same. I actually have two sim cards and one phone, and I pay £47 a month for that – but I'm lucky if I get signal.

"I have to use wifi really. I have BT so I can get wifi in a lot of places and I rely on that.

"The worst is near Ellesmere. I can't get anything at my friend's house on Lyneal Lane unless I stand on the steps to the next door neighbour's field – and that's eight feet up.

"I need my phone though as I'm a full-time carer for my other half. I have the hospital contacting me, and my other half if she needs me, I have to have a signal."

Sarah Greenan, 25, works at the town's Sainsbury's and also uses O2. But compared to her home in Oswestry, the town's reception is fantastic.

"I'm usually relieved when I'm in Whitchurch because it's pretty good. I use my phone all the time and it is good when I am out and about.

"I live in Morda, near Oswestry, and it is terrible, you barely get any signal there. I don't really get any problems once I'm in Whitchurch. In the centre of town it seems to be fine, it is when you are on the outskirts of town that people get issues."

Jim Vernon, 75, of Queensway in Whitchurch said: "I'm with Tesco Mobile, it is so cheap and I have noticed that other people on these smart phones never get signal, whereas I get it all the time.

"There used to be a problem outside Whitchurch, there was a real black spot in Tushingham on the road to Chester."

Oswestry

Slow improvements have been noted in Oswestry, with the town itself no longer plagued with complaints. But it seems the outlying areas are still struggling to keep connected.

Patricia and Alan Tucker, who live in Penybontfawr, said it was particularly poor in their village. The couple use Orange and ID.

Mrs Tucker said: "We are hanging out our window to get signal, it's been like that for years.

"It's only 17 miles from Oswestry but it is really bad.

"It's not only there but it's around the other villages too. We have to use our landline but then our BT was out for three weeks as well.

"They kept saying they would divert our calls to our mobiles but nobody would listen, we just don't get any signal."

Richard Attfield, 71, lives in Morda but works in the town as a parking attendant at Sainsbury's.

He said: "It isn't very good at all. I'm on Vodafone and my partner is on Three but it is always very intermittent.

"It can be good, or it can be terrible. I think the thing is we just cope with it, you just walk to a different part of the house. You do expect to get a much better service when you pay so much.

"I'm actually on Pay As You Go, but I do think you should be able to expect a certain level of service.

"Our broadband at home is good, we are not too far away from the connection box."

Matthew Andrew, who uses EE, is 25 and lives in Llanfyllin.

He said: "I think it's alright really, I don't have any problems especially in the town. I use it mostly for calls and texting and the internet, but it has been pretty good.

"It's much better than it used to be. I've always been with EE and I think it's fine."

Hazel Aspden, 69, of Meadowlee, said: "Mine's fine and I'm with EE, but I don't know if everybody's is."

Shrewsbury

As the county town, Shrewsbury has some of the best reviews with mobile phone reception and with a few exceptions it seems the town's signal is among the best.

But sadly, some say things might not be continuing to improve – they could even be getting worse.

Julia Kear, 44, of Ellesmere Road in Shrewsbury, said: "I really think EE has got worse, at least where I live it is much worse.

"I used to be on Orange and that always had signal but it does depend on where you are really.

"Now where I work you can only get signal on EE, so it does depend." Sandra Chadburn, aged 71, of Coton Hill uses her internet to play Pokemon against her grandchildren.

She said: "I'm with O2 and a lot of my family are with Three. We go away to different places, and it does drop out. The signal is rubbish around places like Attingham Park, but it is fine with Three."

Her husband, John, 72, said Tesco Mobile had been great for him.

He said: "I don't have terrible signal anywhere really. It's not bad for me, but Sandra does have terrible signal sometimes, especially in the shopping centres."

Telford

Last year, we found Telford was among the best in the county for signal with phone users only complaining about a few black spots.

This year it seems much the same. On the whole people are happy with the centre of Telford but still want to see those improvements made elsewhere.

Julie Jones, 40, from Admaston, said: "It all depends on what part of Telford you're in. I'm on O2 and it is not brilliant but neither is Orange. That was really quite bad.

"We have seen some improvements generally I think, but not really that much.

"It seems fine when you're in the town centre, but then the retail parks really struggle. I think it's something you deal with, it's not something I really need and I wouldn't consider changing at the moment."

Beth Morgan, 23, from Dawley, said: "I'm with EE and it's alright but as soon as you get to Malinslee it's a complete dead zone.

"It's the same with O2 and Vodafone too. To be honest I think it's got worse. Since they upgraded the transmitter by Dawley it cut out the 2G signal which is all you can get indoors.

"I ended up hanging out the bedroom window when I was in Malinslee. It meant that any job application I made had to go in my landline which wasn't very professional when there are other people in the house.

"The problem is they just tell you that you're in a poor area for reception. It is not a good enough response. They were selling signal boosters but they cost so much money anywhere.

"There's no real response, it's deal with it, or move. If there was the support from the council or media it makes it much easier to get action.

"I know people that have actually moved because of it. My dad is a software consultant and his phone is his lifeline. His friend moved to Wolverhampton because he was missing so many calls because of the signal.

"He realised he was missing out on so much business it would be cheaper for him to move house than carry on."

Katy Perks, 24, from Donnington Wood, said she had similar problems with Three. She said: "It was mainly in the rural areas – Ironbridge, Muxton, Newport. It's as you go further out, it's much more intermittent.

"My friend in Muxton never gets any signal in her house at all, they've given her all these apps for her phone to try and boost it but they are no good."

Bridgnorth

It's hit and miss – some are hanging out of windows to get reception and some are just hoping for a single bar.

Most in Bridgnorth, unless they're lucky, can expect to get only intermittent signal at best.

Those in the town are fed up and are hoping this year sees some real changes.

Stuart Roberts, 30, from Highley, said: "I think it's dreadful. Someone told me recently that you get 4G now, but I barely even get 3G. I'm on O2 now but it was the same with EE.

"It is good in town, I get three bars and 3G here, and I can make calls. The thing is I just prefer to use the landline now, it's much better than using the mobile and having no signal.

"It's the same with broadband, it is very slow. But the problem is people are small towns and small villages here, they just think it will reach us eventually."

His sister Emma Roberts, 34, now lives in Stevenage, Herefordshire, where she says the service is much better.

"Here there have been improvements, but its the improvement from not even being able to make a call, to only hearing intermittent parts.

"If I need to call anyone I have to go to the back of the house upstairs.

"I had my first phone when I was 17, and I'm now 34 and it's still terrible. I don't imagine it getting better.

"Just because people in smaller villages and towns expect less, it doesn't mean they deserve less."

Sally Butler, 55, of Highley, said: "We get very poor reception. I have to put my phone in the window or go outside to get any signal where I am.

"I don't think things have really changed. I'm on O2 and it is fine in the town but no, there's been no improvement. Broadband is still very slow too."

Newport

Sat between Telford and Stafford, last year we hoped to see strong coverage for the whole town but found it was a real mixture.

However this year there were some positive comments, with the only issues being some strange difference in reception over just short distances.

The town now hopes to see better and more consistent broadband coverage.

Penny Pitchford, 62, of Trinity Mews, said: "I don't have any problems where I live but I do know someone has quite a lot of problems.

"It's strange because it's in a short distance so I'm not sure why. I'm with Virgin Mobile and then Sky for everything else and it's pretty good.

"The only real problems I get are if there's a storm. EE has been good too. I'm fairly new to the area but from what I can tell it is a good area for signal."

Debbie Morris, 56, said that she has had no problems herself in Daniels Cross where she lives.

She said; "I'm on O2 and it used to be with Three. I can't really remember a time when O2 was bad, it's always been really good for me.

"I do think it has actually improved though. It was always fine in Telford but I did use to have some difficulties in Newport but then that has been sorted for me.

"With broadband we've had a few problems. We've just changed over to Plusnet and we already have a query with them."

Her husband, Chris, added: "We are meant to be on fibre now but we aren't seeing all the benefits you might expect."

Mrs Morris said: "I think things need to be improved because they offer all these deals and you ring up to find it's not available in your area. There needs to be better exchange between the providers too.

"I think it's hard to understand it all and it would be good if it was made much clearer."

Craven Arms

Towards the south of the county, people are getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of coverage.

Things might be slowly getting better, but some residents say they have waited too long, some have given up using mobile phones altogether.

Kathleen Powell, 63, of The Crescent, said: "EE is a waste of time. It has been for years. It's ridiculous you get a signal one day and then absolutely nothing the next.

"It is a complete waste of time."

Ruth Seabury, 62, lives in Clunbury and said things were slightly better.

She said: "Things are better than they used to be. We never used to get any signal at all, but I can get a bit of a signal now on EE.

"I know in Twitchen, they had real problems getting broadband at all. It does need improving, they had spoken to someone and it was meant to me getting sorted but I'm not sure – it's taken such a long time to get better.

"You get a signal, then you move and it's gone. We should be getting a better service. We pay the same as everyone else.

Mike Greene, who lives in Diddlebury, said: "Mine got so bad that if I sent a text message, or received one from someone in a good area, that it would take four days to actually arrive.

"It really is that bad. I'm with O2 and it is dreadful, I don't use a mobile in the area anymore because it is just so bad, what's the point?

"I have to rely on a landline. Broadband on the other hand is actually not a probelm, it is quite good. It is pretty reliable.

"The problem is we can moan to our MPs but it's not in their remit."