A STUDY has revealed that North Ayrshire has the second worst mobile coverage in the UK, ranking lower than areas such as the Shetland Islands.
The report was carried out by mobile phone retailer Fonehouse, who ranked the best and worst mobile coverage areas.
The study used data from Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2021 report and coverage checker tools on Three, Vodafone, EE and O2’s websites to create a total coverage score.
This score was generated using five different factors: 3G services, 4G services, 5G services, voice services and data services.
The highest score achievable for any individual area was 2,500 – and North Ayrshire achieved a score of 1875, which was 13.77% below the UK average.
A large part of the reasoning for this low score was the weak 4G and 5G signal available in the area.
The only part of the UK which received a lower score for its mobile coverage was Derry City and Strabane, with North Ayrshire being the worst performing Scottish area.
Of the top ten rated coverage areas in the nation, seven of these were in London.
Ben Branson, CEO of Fonehouse said: “Mobile networks are constantly evolving and improving as years go by, as more networks put up masts around the country, improving the scope and quality of mobile coverage.
“Even so, there are still areas where coverage is weaker than others as the roll-out has been hampered by technology availability.
“5G has come a huge way since it was first released, with a much wider range of compatible handsets, available areas and networks offering it.”
