Blighty newsletter: Why phone signal in Britain is awful

BTGGGIt’s good to be back in the Blighty hot seat; I am stepping in this week for Matthew, who is taking a well-earned break. I thought it might be a good opportunity to discuss the dire state of Britain’s mobile networks, which .In the mid-1990s , a telecoms giant, ran a memorable ad campaign whose strapline was “it’s good to talk”. Some 30 years on and Britons are doing much more than talk; they are also texting, streaming videos and playing games online, all from the supercomputers in their pockets. As a result mobile-data usage is increasing by 40% year on year, and Britain’s four big mobile-phone networks can’t keep pace.Saturated mobile networks are a daily inconvenience for me. Whenever I am in central London, I find myself regularly trying to escape the “not spots”, places where you can’t get a signal for love nor money. It’s particularly bad around ’s office in Covent Garden. The best bet, especially if you’re trying to rendezvous with someone, is to go to the nearest café and connect to their Wi-Fi.Patchy service is not just a problem in London. Compared with other countries, Britain’s mobile-phone signal is not up to scratch. Opensignal, a data provider, ranks the country 46th out of 56 countries for download speeds. The handful of countries that are reckoned to be worse are all developing nations, meaning that Britain has the worst mobile-phone coverage in the rich world.The shoddiness of the mobile network can be explained by three things. First, government flip-flopping. Most rich countries were less enthusiastic than Britain about buying telecom equipment supplied by Huawei, a Chinese firm. Since Boris Johnson’s government was forced into a corner by the Americans, telecoms operators have had to spend time and money ripping out Huawei gear. Second, telecom networks have not invested sufficient amounts into 5, which provides the fastest speeds and whizziest technology. By one estimate a £13bn-23bn shortfall in capital expenditure is likely by 2030, the deadline set by the government for rolling out 5 to the whole population. A proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, the country’s third- and fourth-largest mobile networks, might improve things. Although a reduction in competition may lead to small price rises for mobile-phone users, the synergies could increase network capacity by 30%. That could be a game-changer in Covent Garden and beyond.In the meantime, Britain needs to tackle its pesky planning regime, the third cause of trouble. Although rules on mobile-phone masts were loosened two years ago, telecoms firms still complain that the rules on erecting new masts remain unnecessarily restrictive and slow. The Labour government agrees but it is yet to suggest changes that might quicken the pace of 5 deployment. Ropey mobile signals are likely to blight British conversations for some years to come.