PUBLIC PETITION NO. PE1359 1. Name of Petitioner Daphne Jackson

(For official use only) PUBLIC PETITION NO. PE1359 1. Name of petitioner Daphne Jackson on behalf of Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council 2. Petition title Improved mobile phone coverage in rural areas 3. Petition text Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make representations to mobile phone companies to improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas in the interest of economic development and community safety. 4. Action taken to resolve issues of concern before submitting the petition • Sent letters to mobile phone companies – Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, O2 and 3. • Ongoing correspondence with Mobile Operators Association. O2 & Orange say in a letter to Derek Brownlee MSP that they have no plans to provide coverage. Orange said they had no plans to provide coverage, though 02, whilst saying the same thing, did say that if people contacted them asking for coverage then it might change their mind”. However, this has been tried with no result. • Coverage checks & direct complaints to mobile providers on: http://www.directmobilephones.com/coverage.htm • Correspondence with Ofcom re. licences and direct lobbying by local councillor of Vicki Nash at Ofcom in Scotland who say they “are working to understand what more can be done to address barriers to digital inclusion” • Public lobbying of our representatives. Michael Moore MP and Jeremy Purvis MSP are working together to support us, as is Jim Hume MSP and Derek Brownlee MSP. Jeremy Purvis MSP has asked the main mobile providers to provide information on locations of masts and coverage provided in order to get a complete picture of the black spots. This information is still to be completed. • Presentation of written petition which includes signatures of all Scottish Borders Councillors & several MSP’s. • Newspaper and television articles re lack of coverage. • We have letters of support from the majority of community councils across the Borders, also from the South of Scotland Timber Transport Officer representing forestry companies who say mobile phone reception is a very important issue and forms part of any Health & Safety planning. Timber operations involve lone working e.g. timber lorry drivers and forest managers. • Now a priority action for Scottish Borders Council in its Single Outcome 1 Agreement and strategic plan, see link (p15) http://hq-intranet- 01.scotborders.gov.uk/content/sbcreport/council%20priorities%20- %20council%20agreed%2001-10-09.pdf 5. Petition background information This petition was started by the Ettrick and Yarrow Community Council, Scottish Borders Council area, in February 2009 and to date 1160 signatures have been collected from the two valleys and surrounding areas. This was started as the Community Council was so concerned about the lack of mobile phone coverage in our community council area. We understand that many, many rural areas in Scotland still do not have adequate coverage and are equally concerned. We encourage them to join this petition for their own area. We call upon the Scottish Government to recognise the adverse impact this lack of coverage is having on rural areas. Further, we call upon it to urgently take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that better coverage is achieved throughout rural Scotland. The case for action is growing weekly. The rural areas are increasingly disadvantaged by the lack of mobile reception. As confirmed in a letter from Ofcom on 13 February 2009, the existing licence conditions for mobile phone companies are based on reaching 80% of people, not on area covered. This severely disadvantages rural Scotland in the provision of what has now become a basic and necessary part of the infrastructure. The lack of coverage impacts on rural life and work in a number of key ways: Safety for lone workers and requirements of the lone worker directive may be hard to implement without mobile coverage. At the inquiry after the death of a gamekeeper working alone near Selkirk in 2004 the Health and Safety Executive investigating officer said the decision sent out an important message. "They need a system in place for lone workers keeping in touch with people and also a means of communication to contact the emergency services if need be." • The Emergency Planning Officer for Scottish Borders Council states in a letter: “In rural areas it is vital that persons travelling within our community can have access to mobile communication systems to report emergencies etc to ensure immediate response, in parts of the Scottish Borders this service is not currently available”. He also states that “it is the preferred method of contact for most of our resilient community flood groups”. • When electricity is off, digital cordless telephones do not work which leaves many remote households with NO communication in emergencies. • Safety for anyone travelling or working away from a fixed landline or taking part in outdoor pursuits • Business development. It is hard to diversify a rural business if you cannot take calls on the move. Tourism is increasingly important in rural areas of Scotland & in all Visit Scotland training; operators are urged to answer enquiries immediately or the prospective customer will go elsewhere. We have the support of Riddell Graham, Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Communication at VisitScotland and previously the Chief Executive of the Scottish Borders Tourist Board. 2 • Increasingly text messages are issued to give warnings or group messages e.g. in schools. • Tourists expect mobile coverage and avoid straying far from their range • It is a convenience that the population in urban areas would find hard to do without. Rural areas should not be disadvantaged. Although the petitioners and their local MSP did try to obtain information about whether the provision of mobile phone masts is lower (per head of population) in rural areas than in urban and whether some mobile phone companies provide a better service than others, they have not received any information on this. The petitioners would be grateful to the Committee if it could try to seek such evidence. 6. Do you wish your petition to be hosted on the Parliament’s website as an e-petition? YES 7. Closing date for e-petition 31 August 2010. 8. Comments to stimulate on-line discussion Does your mobile phone always receive a signal? If not, please support our petition to improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas of Scotland. Also please enter the post code of locations where you do not receive a signal & it will help us gather valuable information. We are calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to make representations to mobile phone companies to improve mobile phone coverage in rural areas in the interest of economic development and community safety. 3.

Load more