South Shropshire has one of the worst mobile connectivity rates in the UK, new research suggests.
The area ranks 635th out of 650 constituencies for mobile quality, prompting renewed calls for improvement from MP Stuart Anderson.
Mr Anderson said: "Mobile connectivity can unlock rural prosperity, support local communities, and enhance public services.
"However, South Shropshire is being left behind.
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"Research puts us 635th out of 650 constituencies for mobile quality, with 15 per cent of homes and businesses digitally excluded.
"For our rural economy to grow, our farmers, businesses, and families need the same reliable signal people take for granted in cities.
"The government says 95 per cent 4G coverage has been met, but that doesn’t match what people experience on the ground when calls drop, payments fail, and businesses can’t rely on cloud software.
"I have urged Ministers to prioritise South Shropshire, extend the Shared Rural Network, set real quality targets, and force operators to be open about where they actually invest."
Recent analysis shows that 15 per cent of premises in South Shropshire are 'digitally excluded,' meaning they have no coverage, only 4G, or poor/unusable 5G.
This figure is more than seven times the UK average of two per cent.
Only 38 per cent of premises in the constituency have access to high quality 'Full 5G', compared to 86 per cent nationally, and those that do can only access it through a single network.
Mr Anderson is calling on the Government to accelerate and expand the Shared Rural Network beyond 2027, backed by new funding.
He also wants tiered quality standards, with 100Mbit/s in towns and cities, 50Mbit/s in villages and smaller towns, and 10–20Mbit/s in remote rural areas.
The MP said new masts should be multi-operator to improve coverage and competition, and operators should be required to publish data on whether they are using their full licensed spectrum in each area.
Finally, he is calling to overhaul coverage reporting so it reflects real-world use, and for constituency-level data to be published annually.
Mr Anderson has written to the Minister of State calling for urgent action.
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