In an initiative to enhance mobile connectivity, Worcestershire County Council is taking action to tackle the growing issue of poor mobile connectivity impacting residents and local businesses.
To help build a picture of these connectivity challenges, the Council is implementing a comprehensive study to gather detailed information on street-level connectivity which is set to help improve service quality. This study in Worcestershire forms part of the UK’s largest ever mobile connectivity survey.
From today, the Council, with the support of District Council and regional partners, will begin temporarily equipping waste collection lorries with advanced technology to monitor and collect data on mobile connectivity throughout the county.
This innovative approach will provide valuable insights into connectivity issues in every area of the County as the waste collection crews complete their routes over the coming weeks.
To help gather even more information on where the mobile hotspots are across the county, the Council are also launching a new survey for residents and businesses to easily log location and times where mobile connectivity is poor.
Councillor Adam Kent, Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills highlighted the importance of the initiative locally: “We know that issues with mobile connectivity have a huge impact on businesses, people and communities. I hear from many people around the county that the mobile signal in certain areas is worse than it was 12 months ago. It’s a priority of mine, and the Council, to do what we can to understand where, why, and what is needed to improve this as we understand the negative impact this can have.
“The first step is getting a better understanding of where the issues are and with the data collection from the bin lorries, this will help. We also would like to hear from people across the county to fill the gaps in data so we have today launched our own survey so residents and businesses can tell us where mobile signal is poor. The data will enable us work with Ofcom and providers to improve the signal in those areas.
“I urge anyone who has experienced poor mobile signal anywhere across the county to complete the short survey.
The more data on poor connectivity we gather, the more chance we have of improving the signals.”
The bin lorry data collection initiative is being funded with support from the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR) which has been awarded £3.75m of funding from the Government to support the growth of wireless innovation and technology in some of its key economic sectors.
It’s being rolled out across the rest of the River Severn catchment area and is the largest mobile coverage survey ever undertaken. The partnership has enlisted Streetwave to support the information gathering.
Henry Rutland, Operations Director at Streetwave, added: “Streetwave's partnership with the River Severn Partnership marks a significant milestone in the UK telecoms industry.
“This initiative represents the largest mobile coverage survey ever undertaken across the UK - with data being collected across 31,780km of roads across the River Severn region. This information will be used to identify communities and businesses that may not have access to effective mobile signal so that connectivity improvements can be made, ultimately benefiting the 3.5 million residents in the region."
The information gathered from these efforts will be instrumental in informing businesses, local authorities, and residents about connectivity issues.
This data will offer a clearer picture of mobile connectivity throughout Worcestershire, and the wider region, to support more informed choices when selecting mobile service providers.
The Council, and the wider partnership, will collaborate closely with Ofcom, the UK’s regulator for the communications services, and mobile providers to address and resolve identified connectivity issues in addition to lobbying government on the matter.
The Council is committed to tackling the quality of mobile connectivity across the county, ensuring that both residents and businesses can enjoy reliable and high-quality mobile services.
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