Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Lyell (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 17 October 2006.

Mobile Phone Networks

Question: My Lords, I declare an interest in that we have a transmission mast on Kinnordy. My area, the Glens of Angus, is very similar to that in which the noble Lord, Lord Steel, lives. Will the Minister write to me with the mathematics of the 99.5 per cent and so on because, even with the transmission mast at Kirriemuir, there are areas 10 miles away in the Glens of Angus where it is extremely difficult to find anything like the service that the noble Lord decrees necessary?

Answer: My Lords, the same is true of north Henley. If you listen carefully to the statistic that I gave, you will see that it leaves quite a lot of room: 99.9 per cent of the UK population live in postal districts that have at least one mobile operator with at least 75 per cent area coverage.

Secondary information