UK: Significant areas lack 3G coverage, especially rural, as shown in maps produced by OFCOM

[The Scotsman] Large parts of Scotland offer no coverage to people trying to use their mobile phones to surf the internet, a report by industry watchdog Ofcom has found.

Maps published yesterday show the worst-hit areas for "not spots" – as opposed to hot spots – include large tracts of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, south-western England, northern England and East Anglia.

Increasing numbers of Britons rely on mobile phones, with millions using 3G, or third generation, services to connect to the web using a mobile phone or by plugging a USB modem or data card into a computer.

Current figures show there are over 76 million mobile phone subscriptions in the UK and more than two million people signed up for new mobile broadband deals between February last year and February this year.

Ofcom said the maps provide a "snapshot" view of coverage across the UK on Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and 3 mobile networks, with shaded areas indicating where customers have the possibility of making and receiving a call outside over a 3G network.

"Coverage of mobile networks in the UK is generally good. Indeed, it is better than in other comparable countries, but some issues persist," Ofcom said.

"For 3G network coverage there is still a noticeable difference between rural and urban areas, and also between different parts of the UK, with coverage problems a particular issue in the devolved nations."

The regulator pledged to push for improvements by focusing on "not spot" areas with poor or no reception.

"We have therefore decided that now is the right time to look into coverage issues in more detail," it said.

A range of possibilities can be blamed for the variations, including problems with technology, cost, planning restrictions and topographical factors such as hilly or mountainous landscapes, Ofcom said.

Professor Bob Stewart, a signal messaging expert in the department of electronic engineering at the University of Strathclyde, said a major difficulty in mobile technology was the cost and locating of the "base station" needed for coverage.

"When you use a mobile the call goes to a base station which then cables it through networks," he said. "But in parts of Scotland you are nowhere near a base station.

"There are various reasons for this, including the expense to networks of installation which can reach six or seven figure sums, before even taking into consideration possible planning objections, renting space and power consumption.

"Also, rather a lot of Scotland's terrain doesn't help. Radio signals travel by line of sight and cannot penetrate mountains."

However, Prof Stewart said the situation could change if "femtocell" technology currently being promoted by Vodafone became widespread.

"With femtocells you could be living in an area such as Plockton but as long as you have a telephone line with an internet connection you could in effect get your own individual base station," he said.

A spokesman for CBI Scotland said: "This method of accessing the internet is becoming increasingly popular and important for business people who find themselves away from the office on a regular basis.

"Network operators will obviously be working hard to reduce areas of poor reception and geography, as certain areas of Scotland will not at present enjoy the connectivity of most of the UK's urban areas."

MOBILES LEAVE LANDLINES BEHIND

THE number of mobile phone calls in the UK rose by 11 billion minutes last year, while the number of minutes on fixed lines fell by 8bn, according to research by Ofcom.

The number of households with landlines dropped to 85 per cent in 2008 from a peak of 90 per cent for the previous year.

According to the research, last year there were 1.2 million SIM-only contract sales in the UK, which was equivalent to one-fifth of all contract sales during that period.

Usually lasting a month, SIM-only deals combine a bundle of calls and texts with the flexibility of pre-paid services and mean customers avoid being locked into long contracts.

Ofcom also found that people are downloading more data on the move, with data service revenues rising from 1 per cent per mobile connection in 2003 to almost 6 per cent last year.

Ofcom's call to arms over mobile phone 'not spots'