LOCAL MP John Lamont is backing proposals which would require mobile operators to cooperate to implement roaming in rural parts of the UK.

As part of a consultation on telecommunications the UK Government has called on Ofcom to review the possibility of allowing consumers to access other operators when they do not get coverage from their own operator.

It forms part of the UK Government’s commitment to extend mobile coverage to 95 percent of the UK by 2022.

Recent Ofcom figures show that only 78 percent of Scotland’s landmass has coverage from an operator and only 38 percent has good 4G coverage from all operators.

Despite this dearth of 4G coverage, major UK network operators are already committing to rolling out 5G services in 2019 and EE has announced the first sixteen UK cities to receive 5G coverage.

Lamont, who has repeatedly called for more to be done to improve mobile signal in the Borders, has now joined with fellow MPs representing rural constituencies to write to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, urging them to improve the existing service.

He said: “A lack of mobile phone signal is a huge source of frustration for many communities in the Borders.

“Like the problems with broadband, having a decent mobile signal is holding businesses back and is really unfair for consumers who are paying the same as everyone else for an inferior service.

“These proposals have the potential to vastly improve mobile signal in the Borders and they have already been endorsed by Ofcom as effective.

“That is why I am calling on the UK Government to require mobile networks to implement mobile roaming as soon as possible.”