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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

I support the thrust of what the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, and the noble Earl, Lord Erroll, have been saying, particularly in reference to subsection (2)(a), which refers to promoting, ""appropriate levels of investment in electronic communications networks"." I should declare an interest—or a lack of interest, to be more accurate. I happen to live in an area that has no mobile telephone reception. Both my mobile telephone and the gadget which the House of Lords kindly provides me with to receive communications do not work. I have raised this in correspondence directly but Ofcom has tended to shrug it off by saying that it is not part of its responsibility. I should have thought that in this day and age there should be a general policy to ensure that where there is at least a reasonable population—I am not talking about the tops of mountains—and villages which do not yet have a telecommunications network, the companies that have not built the necessary masts should do so. In the case that I am thinking of only one more mast is needed. These companies are falling down in their duty. I should like to hear that the Government will take this matter seriously and that, where there is a reasonable population, the whole country will be covered by the mobile telephone network.