Russell has expressed disappointment following confirmation that the mobile operator, EE, has failed to meet its commitment to provide 4G to Newtown by the end of January 2016.
Russell George, the AM for Montgomeryshire, convened a roundtable meeting in Newtown in November with all four mobile network operators (EE, O2, Vodafone and Three) to discuss mobile coverage issues. At the meeting, there was a commitment from EE that all of Newtown would receive 4G during January 2016.
Following EE’s failure to meet the commitment, Mr George said:
"I’m disappointed that EE has not been able to honour its commitment to provide 4G to Newtown by the end of January and has failed to complete the necessary work to upgrade its infrastructure within the original timescale provided.
"That said, and in fairness, EE has always been willing to engage with me on the reasons behind any issues and I have received assurances that they are currently implementing quite a complex technical upgrade and testing the equipment before this additional capacity can be rolled out.
"I am also aware that signal has improved in parts of the town, including 4G coverage in some areas.
"I will continue to ensure that operators are held accountable for their commitments and as improvements are rolled out, I would be interested in hearing from residents across Montgomeryshire about whether or not they have seen an improvement in mobile coverage and capacity in due course."