- Published
Trudi King-Gunn works in a village with virtually no mobile phone signal.
asserted
Gunn → publish → signal
She and the village's residents rely mostly on Wi-Fi and landlines to stay connected, but in a power cut that becomes problematic.
asserted
that → rely → cut
"The concern is when we need to call the emergency services," said Trudi.
asserted
Trudi → need → services
Most areas of the UK now have access to 4G and 5G signal, but in some places the lack of it can cause serious disruption to people's lives.
asserted
lack → have → lives
Analysis by the consumer organisation Which? suggests the UK has the poorest mobile network quality in the G7 nations, while more than a third of mobile customers surveyed reported problems with poor signal.
uncertain
third → suggest → signal
BBC News has spoken to people in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England to find out how the problem is affecting communities.
asserted
problem → speak → communities
Eskdalemuir, where Trudi works, is a remote village in southern Scotland with about 250 residents.
asserted
Trudi → work → residents
"In the actual centre of Eskdalemuir, it is a blackspot," said Trudi, who works at the Eskdalemuir Community Hub.
asserted
who → say → Hub
There are concerns that with digital-only systems replacing analogue landlines, the villagers could be cut off in an emergency.
uncertain
villagers → be → emergency
Power cuts are not uncommon in the area and not everyone has back-up batteries to keep their landlines operating.
asserted
everyone → have → landlines
"We have got a defibrillator and there have been a couple of issues when people have needed it and tried to ring the ambulance service," she said.
asserted
she → get → service
"Sometimes you can jump on [the hub's] Wi-Fi - if you are close enough."
asserted
you → jump → Fi
She said back-up batteries were available but they would only keep landlines working for two or three hours.
asserted
they → say → hours
The situation is even more frustrating, according to Trudi, because she knows there is good signal nearby.
uncertain
she → accord → Trudi
"I live four miles down the road and I have perfect mobile signal but in [Eskdalemuir] there is just nothing," she added.
asserted
she → live → Eskdalemuir
"There is no talk of any sort of change or mast going up or anything like that."
Villagers keep their fingers crossed that power cuts do not last long or that their back-up systems are sufficient.
asserted
systems → be → that
BT said it offered a range of options in the event of a power cut, and that back-up power generators were being added to more sites.
asserted
generators → say → sites
'Card machines can go down completely'
asserted
machines → go → ?
In north Wales, the coastal town of Llandudno attracts millions of visitors every year.
asserted
town → attract → visitors
But poor phone signal leaves traders struggling to process payments and visitors struggling to make calls.
asserted
visitors → leave → calls
"It affects us massively, especially with the number of businesses we have," said Paul Williams, general manager of Llandudno Pier.
asserted
Williams → affect → Pier
"They all rely on the 5G signal to try and get the card transactions processed.
asserted
transactions → rely → signal
"
The problem was clear just moments after meeting kiosk owner Bella McBride, as one of her customers faced a long wait to pay by card.
asserted
one → meet → card
"My card machine, for example, some days it can go down completely and not everybody carries cash," said Bella.
asserted
Bella → go → cash
"It ranges from atrocious to completely useless," said Alan Heseldine, who runs a seafood kiosk on the pier.
asserted
who → range → pier
"It's a major problem because I can't use the card machines to best effect.
asserted
I → use → effect
I can't make phone calls to suppliers, I have to wait until I go home or I can get Wi-Fi somewhere else.
"
asserted
I → make → Fi
It makes the job a lot harder than it needs to be."
asserted
it → make → ?
Last year local councillors gave permission for new phone masts to be put up in the town, but the work is yet to be carried out.
asserted
work → give → town
The visual impact of any new masts has been raised as a concern, as Llandudno's Victorian seafront is a conservation area.
asserted
seafront → raise → concern
Tilly Adams-Mears, who was visiting Llandudno for the day to surprise her grandmother, said she was caught out by the lack of signal.
asserted
she → visit → signal
"I've been trying to contact my nan and you can't get hold of her at all.
asserted
you → try → her
'I've lost sales'
asserted
I → lose → sales
Meanwhile, 230 miles (370km) away on the opposite side of the UK, traders in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, face similar issues.
asserted
traders → face → issues
Tasnime Rotherham, 42, who runs a mobile catering business, said the notoriously bad signal in the city centre was affecting trade.
asserted
signal → run → trade
"Fifty percent of our payments are on card, so we need a decent signal," she said.
asserted
she → need → signal
"I've lost a few sales because people have walked off and not realised their payment didn't go through.
asserted
payment → lose → sales
"We now have trader Wi-Fi because the signal in the marketplace is like a black zone."
asserted
signal → have → zone
Ely does not have any phone masts in the city centre.
asserted
Ely → have → centre
Instead, they are dotted around the outskirts.
asserted
they → dot → outskirts
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
