Waverley Borough Council is raising urgent concerns about the ongoing issues with mobile connectivity in rural areas across Waverley.
The lack of mobile connectivity and poor broadband availability has become a growing challenge with so many aspects of daily life relying on this. Large parts of the borough experience poor mobile service and coverage, leaving residents and businesses at a significant disadvantage.
In a letter to the Minister of State for Data and Digital Infrastructure, Waverley Borough Council is asking the government for more support.
Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development at Waverley Borough Council, Councillor Liz Townsend, said: “We are deeply concerned that the needs of rural areas are being neglected during digital rollouts. The lack of mobile coverage and broadband availability has become a serious issue affecting both the day-to-day lives of our residents and the success of local businesses”.
Waverley is continuously attracting a high number of businesses for a rural area. In December 2024, the borough saw 65 start-ups, plus 108 companies moving into the borough across a wide range of industries.
Councillor Townsend said: “With assets such as a highly skilled workforce, characterful high streets with good footfall, and fantastic connections to London, our two main airports and the South Coast, we’re a great place to invest in. We’ve got businesses in the upcoming AI, gaming and film industries, and we want to stay attractive to all the enthusiastic and hard-working people contributing to being a prosperous borough, and that’s why we now call for action.”
Key concerns include:
Local Businesses: poor connectivity hampers business operations, including e-commerce, the AI and gaming industries, and essential services like payment via parking apps. And mobile coverage can be critical for our farming community, particularly for the safety of lone agricultural workers.
Residents: inadequate mobile service has left some unable to make emergency 999 calls or access online banking security features, putting them at risk. Some elderly residents depend on mobile-based personal alarms, which are unreliable in areas with poor coverage.
Public Transport and accessibility: residents rely on mobile networks for public transport information, especially where digital displays with real time information are lacking.
Planning: the government’s proposed housing growth for Waverley, which will see 1,374 new homes added annually, highlights the urgent need for mobile connectivity and better broadband availability. Residents are already reporting increasing numbers of ‘not-spots’ across the borough. As housing numbers increase, the current mobile and broadband network infrastructure will be insufficient
Councillor Townsend said: “Despite ongoing efforts and promises from network providers, rural communities in Waverley feel left behind, and we are not seeing the progress we need. We need more support from government to overcome what are becoming significant barriers to growth and the robust enforcement of targets for rural areas.”