IFA Environment and Rural Affairs Chairman Thomas Cooney has called on the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) to demand a higher level of co-operation between mobile and broadband service providers in an attempt to address the significant levels of poor coverage in rural areas.
Speaking after a positive meeting with ComReg he said, “IFA’s recent snapshot survey identified wide-ranging deficiencies in communications infrastructure across the country.
“To address this, ComReg which is responsible for regulating mobile operators has agreed to engage with IFA to improve the service received by farm families and all rural dwellers.”
IFA has also called on ComReg to protect consumers by obliging operators to share their mobile and broadband infrastructure in areas of poor coverage.
Concluding, he said, “ComReg has a leading role in addressing the inadequate mobile and broadband service in rural Ireland and it is essential that they continue to hold operators to account and play their part in ending the urban-rural digital divide.”