A GROUP of MPs has called on the digital secretary to act on the poor state of mobile coverage in rural areas.

The 56 MPs sent a joint letter aimed at Mathew Hancock, which seeks to challenge the current speed and ambition of 4G coverage roll.

Julian Sturdy, MP said: “Ofcom’s Connected Nations report in December 2017 revealed that while people inside 90 per cent of UK premises can make telephone calls on all four mobile networks, this falls to 57 per cent in rural areas.

"This is just not good enough and progress in connecting the countryside has been painfully slow."

The government aim to deliver mobile coverage to 95 per cent of UK geographic landmass by the end of 2022 and estimate this would add £75 billion to the UK GDP.

This comes after a report from the Country Land and Business Association that mobile network operators have been failing to submit applications for new masts in some of the rural areas with the worst 4G coverage.

Expressing concern about progress to date, the MPs are calling for a legally binding coverage obligation on all four major operators and greater transparency for those operators.

The MPs also want to ensure, Ofcom's priority is to work towards the delivery of universal quality mobile coverage.