Each morning commuters heading into London’s Blackfriars station from East Dulwich find much of their 33‑minute journey without a good mobile signal, hampering calls, texts and emails. A one‑off FT test by Streetwave found those on BT’s EE network had 80 per cent coverage, while O2 users had only 27 per cent.

The UK has struggled to keep pace with countries that rolled out 5G networks, remaining behind Italy and Romania and falling 57th worldwide in mobile network quality, according to Opensignal and Ookla. Underground 4G is roughly 1.6× stronger than street‑level service, but gaps remain.

Operators blame planning laws, capacity limits and low consumer prices for the weak coverage. Calls for reform include raising the 20‑metre planning‑permission limit to 25 metres in protected areas and 30 metres elsewhere, and extending site‑retention periods from 18 to 36 months. Vodafone Three now has 80 sites off air due to redevelopment, while O2’s Paddington site has been offline since 2018.

The government has launched a review, noting that cheap UK prices have stifled investment. Proposed net‑neutrality changes could allow differentiated speeds and better fund network upgrades.