George welcomes support for “Better connections” dossier

MP for the West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly constituency of St Ives, Andrew George, has welcomed the response he has received so far from residents and businesses across the constituency to his call for information and evidence about problems with connectivity to both mobile phones and the Internet.

Mr George has already raised the concerns of many constituents with Ministers and wants Cornwall to take advantage of opportunities under the Government’s Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) which aims to target the coverage constraints faced in remoter rural areas which are mobile phone signal “not spots”.

Mr George has reported that, since his call for further evidence, he has heard from many residents, businesses and even visitors to the area who have described the difficulties they have faced and the consequences this has had for them, their businesses and business activity.

Mr George said: “I am collating a dossier of information – much of it will inevitably be confidential – which I’ll submit to the Government’s Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey MP, to ensure that the Government takes into full account the challenges which many areas face across West Cornwall.

“This is not just a serious issue for businesses, but for those in need of emergency services, for those providing care for the elderly, disabled and housebound and for those for whom good quality connections are essential for their business.

“Whilst we will celebrate improved connectivity to fibre optic Superfast Broadband services in some parts of West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, this shouldn’t cloud our vision so that we miss the reality of many problems not just in our remoter and isolated settlements and locations.”