Taller phone masts call to tackle 'not spots' in Wales

A phone mast serving the Gwaun Valley in Pembrokeshire

Taller phone masts, which are to be brought in in England, could help tackle 'not spots' in rural Wales, the new Welsh Secretary has said.

Alun Cairns met UK mobile phone providers on Wednesday to try to address patchy mobile phone reception.

The UK government announced new powers to allow construction of taller phone masts without planning permission in England in the Budget.

Around 4% of users in Wales could not get voice coverage, Mr Cairns said.

He wants the Welsh Government to introduce similar powers, which would allow masts up to 25m in height to be erected in areas with low coverage, without planning permission. The current limit is 15m.

He said: "While I appreciate the success of progress so far and scale of challenge around improving mobile connections in Wales, there remain areas in rural parts of Wales that have no network coverage.

"The UK government used the Budget to announce greater freedoms and flexibilities for the deployment of mobile infrastructure - I'd like to see the Welsh Government consider something similar."

The Welsh Government has been asked to comment.