WEST Somerset’s MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has welcomed a new deal to improve mobile coverage in rural areas.

Ministers have given the green light to a £1 billion deal with mobile network operators to deliver high quality 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the UK by 2026.

The Shared Rural Network will involve four operators – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – joining forces and sharing costs with the Government to create a new delivery organisation, making the maximum use of existing and new phone masts. 

Mr Liddell-Grainger was one of 78 cross-party MPs who wrote to the Digital Culture, Media and Sport Secretary last year to ask for Government support for the scheme.

He said better 4G connectivity would make flexible working, access to education and leisure opportunities easier.

“The mobile has become an essential tool for most of us. This will certainly come as a relief to many people living in my constituency who are frustrated by the persistent ‘not spots’ which prevent them from carrying out many tasks which other people take for granted,” he said.

The initiative follows Government proposals for an overhaul of planning rules and is part of the Government’s plan to ‘level up’ the country with world-class digital infrastructure across the UK to make sure homes and businesses are better connected.