Mobile phone users in Northern Ireland have had more problems with network coverage than any of their UK counterparts.

New research found 59% of consumers reported problems with weak or non-existent signals, while 39% said they had regularly experienced difficulties.

If these results are representative of the whole population of local mobile phone users, it means that over half-a-million people could have been having trouble with their networks.

The study by the Communications Consumer Panel also found 91% of small Ulster businesses have had trouble with mobile coverage. And it has prompted calls for consumers to be allowed to “try before you buy” to help them get the service they want from mobile providers.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Maureen Edmondson, Communications Consumer Panel member for Northern Ireland, said it was time for action.

“Fifty-nine per cent of people in Northern Ireland have real problems with their mobile coverage,” she said.

“That’s the highest in the UK, compared with 58% in Scotland, and a UK average of 56%.

“However, the figures show that 41% of Scottish consumers are more likely to experience regular problems, compared to 36% here — but Northern Ireland is still above the UK average of 33%.”

There are over one million mobile phone owners across the province, according to the Communications Consumer Panel.

That figure represents a staggering 93% of local households — and gives the region the highest uptake in the UK.

Ms Edmondson said it was essential that consumers aren't trapped into mobile contracts that don't give them the coverage they need.

“We would like to see providers offering consumers a ‘try before you buy' clause that allows them to use their mobile and, if they don't get coverage, take it back,” she added.

But the panel conceded that good coverage depends on a variety of factors — including where the phone was being used, the local landscape and the weather. It also found the most common problem for consumers was so-called “not spots”, where the user received no reception at all, poor quality or intermittent coverage, delayed text messages and dropped calls.

The survey, based on over 1,700 UK adults, revealed Northern Ireland has the highest number of mobile-only households in the UK, with around 13% opting out of using landlines altogether.

Ms Edmondson said mobile phone coverage was “absolutely essential” for the business sector.

“A huge proportion of businesses in Northern Ireland are small and medium seized enterprises (SMEs),” she said.

“Their mobile usage is similar to individual consumers, except it’s business critical and for them genuine mobility as well as coverage in the office is critical.”

A total of just 17% of Northern Ireland consumers experiencing problems contacted customer services — despite having more network-related issues than elsewhere in the UK.

Ofcom said it recognised that some problems persist.

“We are focusing on persistent ‘not spot’ areas and working to facilitate better mobile coverage,” a spokesman said.

“We are assisting the Government on its proposals to make more spectrum available for mobile services, undertaking new research to explore the causes of some persistent mobile coverage ‘not spot’ areas of poor or no reception, and investigating the issue of network quality with mobile operators.”

‘Not spots’, bad sound, delayed texts... just some of the problems we are experiencing

People in Northern Ireland are much more likely to use mobiles as their primary means of communication.

According to Ofcom, 52% of us use a mobile as our main means of making phone calls, compared to 38% in the rest of the UK. But despite the wider use here the Communications Consumer Panel says there are a number of common coverage problems. These include:

• ‘Not spots’ — areas where there is no coverage at all.
• Poor sound quality.
• Intermittent coverage.
• Delayed text messages.
• Calls that end unexpectedly.

The findings have prompted Ofcom to conduct research into the causes of coverage difficulties, although some factors which affect quality are already known, such as whether you are near one of your provider’s transmitters, or using your phone inside or outside. The local landscape — hills, valleys and trees — can also play havoc with how your mobile operates. The more things there are to bump into, the worse your signal is likely to be. Similarly, the weather can play a negative role.

In Northern Ireland, some experts have put coverage problems down to topography and the rural nature of the region, where there is a lower density of masts than in other parts of the UK.