Shropshire MP's concern over mobile phone failures
A Shropshire MP has called on the Government to ensure there are no repeats of the interruptions to mobile phone networks in March which left thousands of people and businesses with no coverage.
Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, told Culture Minister Matt Warman that many people forced to work at home at the start of the coronavirus outbreak had suffered badly due to the failure of the phone network.
"Many people who are home-working in Shropshire, and indeed across the United Kingdom, will have seen mobile phone networks such as EE, Vodafone and O2 fail spectacularly," he told Mr Warman in the House of Commons.
"What is the Government doing to ensure that does not happen again, given that people are losing money, losing connectivity with their families at a time when we all need to be connected?"
Mr Warman said the resilience of the internet, both mobile and fixed, had allowed people to work from home in a way that would not have been possible just a few years ago.
He said Mr Pritchard was right to highlight the vital work the networks did in ensuring they continued to function.
"I speak very regularly to the chief executives of the organisations that he mentions, I know they are absolutely committed to make sure connectivity only continues to improve given that we now know that it is more vital than ever," Mr Warman added.
