Every UK resident has experienced the frustration of trying to make a call or send a text, only to be taunted by weak or non-existent phone signal. “My only option for getting signal was walking up the nearest hill and flailing my arm around”, a British local even admits. Whether it’s in the heart of the countryside, deep within a bustling city, or even within the comfort of our own homes, poor mobile reception continues to be a common inconvenience for many of us.
Using data from the UK’s official communications regulator Ofcom, Nomad has revealed the country’s worst locations for mobile service, one of the worst areas being Devon.
30-year old Olivia Lott, who’s lived in a rural village in Mid Devon for the last three years, shares her experience:
“Mobile signal strength where I live is dreadful. When I first moved here, my smartphone at the time didn’t have WiFi calling, so my only option for getting signal was walking up the nearest hill and flailing my arm around. I very quickly got a landline, and frankly I don’t know anyone else my age who has one.”
Let’s take a look at the worst locations across the UK:
Locations in Devon and Staffordshire Win the Award for Worst Signal in the UK
If you’re searching for the perfect place to unplug, we’ve found not one, but three! EX16 9JT in East Anstey, WS15 2UQ in Rugeley, and SK11 0QX in Rushton Spencer have been crowned the worst locations for mobile signal in the UK. These picturesque spots offer not just serene landscapes and quaint village charm, but also a consistent zero bar on everyone’s mobile phone.
Rugeley and Rushton Spencer are both located in Staffordshire, making it one of the two most unreliable regions for mobile coverage in the UK, along with Devon, as Olivia confirms: ”Before buying my home, I knew that signal would be patchy (it’s rural Devon, after all), but I didn’t expect it to be quite such a black hole.”
The tests run showed that there was neither voice nor data signal in these 3 areas from any of the four phone operators; EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone.
Locations in Kent, East Sussex and Lincolnshire Crowned Second Worst Locations for Phone Signal
Higham [BB12 9BW] in Kent, Mayfield [TN20 6BW] in East Sussex, Hubbert’s Bridge [PE20 3QR] in Lincolnshire are all English towns that boast beautiful landscapes and a strong community spirit. What’s not so strong? Their mobile signal.
These areas get the silver medal for second worst locations for mobile signal in the UK, offering just a hint of connectivity to keep you on your toes.
Only lucky Vodafone users in Hubbert’s Bridge [PE20 3QR] have limited voice signal, while residents using EE, O2 and Three remain completely disconnected.
In Higham [BB12 9BW], Mayfield [TN20 6BW], and Luppitt [EX14 4SR], O2 is the way to go to enjoy some limited voice signal, while the other phone operators offer none.
Aisholt, Somerset Comes Third in the Race for Worst Phone Signal in the UK
Aisholt [TA5 1AR] is a small village in Bridgwater, Somerset that embodies the beauty of rural England. It is known for having the enchanting Quantock Hills as a backdrop… and a mobile signal as shaky as the leaves on its trees.
If you live in Aisholt [TA5 1AR] and have opted for EE as a provider, you made the right decision – it offers limited voice and data signal, unlike its competitors; O2, Three and Vodafone which don’t provide any in that area.
The bar might be low (quite literally) for residents of these locations, but for some locals like Olivia, it isn’t too much of a problem: “I see having no mobile signal as more of a blessing than a curse! My WiFi is fantastic, so I don’t need to rely on my signal much, and I’d still move [to Devon] in a heartbeat if I had the choice again.”
Methodology
In order to show which locations in the UK have the worst mobile phone signal, we have scraped data from the UK’s official communications regulator, Ofcom, using their mobile and broadband checker which predicts the availability of mobile services.
Analysing both voice and data service, the tool provided estimates of signal availability in specific locations across the 4 main UK network providers; EE, Three, O2 & Vodafone. Each location and network signal was then given a label as “likely”, “limited” or “none”.
