A South London MP has launched a fiery rant against the government, claiming that mobile phone reception in the capital is worse than what he experienced in Afghanistan a decade ago. Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, who represents Tonbridge and served as an Afghanistan veteran, said neither his O2 nor EE phones work reliably in Dulwich, preventing him from working.
MP's complaint on social media
Tugendhat took to X to express his frustration, writing: “I’m in Dulwich. One of the more expensive areas of London, supposedly a global city, and I’m getting worse mobile phone reception than I did in Kabul a decade ago. I pay for two contracts: @O2 and @EE, and neither is reliable, so I can’t work.”
He added: “Mobile phones are useless in vast areas of Britain and have got worse. You can never work on a train, unlike in France. But we’re spending £4.5 billion in bike lanes and crossings. This government is prioritising virtue signalling vanity projects when we need infrastructure urgently.”
Response from network providers
An EE spokesperson responded: “According to Ofcom, EE has the UK’s largest 5G network, with customers spending more time connected to 5G than any other provider. We recognise that people’s experiences can vary depending on location and there will be some areas where signal is more limited. That’s why we’re continuing to invest heavily in our network, including expanding 5G+ coverage, which is already available to more than 52 million people, with plans to reach 99% of the UK population by March 2030.”
An O2 spokesperson said: “Providing customers with reliable mobile connectivity is a top priority and this year we’re investing more than £700 million in our mobile network through our Mobile Transformation Plan. This investment is focused on increasing network capacity and improving performance in the places where people rely on connectivity most, including major cities, transport routes and rural communities across the UK. However, in parts of London, outdated planning rules are making it harder and slower to replace and upgrade mobile infrastructure. In some cases, mobile sites are being removed faster than replacement sites can be approved, impacting network performance and customer experience. We’re calling for reforms that would modernise the planning system and enable operators to deploy infrastructure more quickly and efficiently.”
