Independent councilor Peter Atkinson has blasted a mobile phone firm for the widespread poor signal and lack of network coverage in the Mile Oak part of North Portslade.
Councilor Peter Atkinson
Councilor Atkinson, who represents North Portslade on Brighton and Hove City Council, spoke out in response to complaints from people living in his ward.
He is seeking an assurance that the service will be fully restored as a matter of urgency.
The O2 network in Mile Oak is also “piggybacked” by other service providers so the problem goes much wider than just affecting O2 customers.
Councilor Atkinson said that it had been a major problem in Mile Oak for many months, with confusing texts and emails from service providers giving different timescales and reasons for the poor service.
He said: “Residents are receiving a terrible service – and in some cases no service at all. A lot of people now work part time from home, post-pandemic, and need a fully functioning mobile network.
“There are also people who run businesses from their home address and for whom internet access is crucial.
“Also, many residents have discarded their landline phone and now rely totally on the mobile network which is impossible to use at times for some people.”
Councilor Atkinson said that he had been contacted by a large number of residents and when he gave an update to voters on Facebook he received several more responses.
He has contacted the Labor MP for MP, Peter Kyle, and asked that he and his office use their influence and contacts to get this service fully up and running.
He added: “This is just completely unacceptable. Mile Oak residents deserve better.”
O2 said that coverage should be good indoors and outdoors, including for mobile phone calls and broadband, although Mile Oak did not yet have 5G.