Could Tenby’s mobile phone coverage woes finally be fixed, as Telecom replacement works to a 5G mast have finally taken place!

A temporary road closure at Slippery Back/Old Narberth Road, Tenby – from its junction with Mayfield Drive, northwest to a point near the access to Tenby Town Council Cemetery, was pencilled in for Monday, May 11, for ‘Telecom repair works’ to the 5G mast.

Seemingly, those works have now taken place, after being put on hold during April...

A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire County Council stated today (May 12): “We have received communication directly from Vodafone today in relation to the mobile issues in and around Tenby.

“Vodafone have confirmed that the replacement mast was installed last night and they are on track to get coverage back up and running at the weekend.

“Hopefully, this will conclude the issues and frustrations experienced by everyone.”

A spokesperson for Vodafone had stated over the weekend: “Our infrastructure partner has advised that the closure is currently scheduled for 11 May, from 8pm to 4am, to support the installation of the new pole.

"This is an important step in restoring coverage in the area, and we are working to get service back up and running as quickly as possible.

“As with all infrastructure works, timings can be subject to change, but we know how frustrating this has been for customers and we’re sorry for the disruption."

Mobile phone coverage across Tenby has been sporadic to say the least over the past few months, leaving many locals and visitors frustrated, as well as causing an impact on businesses and services for the locality.

Mobile signal in the seaside town has tended to be generally functional during the winter period - but can often suffer from significant capacity issues during peak summer months, often leading to slow data or failed calls despite high signal strength. Infrastructure can struggle with the high influx of tourists.

With more and more services relying upon such coverage to function, like the many car parking pay and display machines, that allow you to buy a ticket via your mobile phone - the lack of an immediate signal is proving to be a major issue for both residents, holidaymakers and indeed businesses too - who rely on such functionality.

Telecom repair works to a 5G mast near Tenby cemetery were scheduled to take place in April, with Clear View Services Group due to carry out the telecom poling work at Slippery Back/Old Narberth Road on April 14.

One local resident told the Observer about the ‘missing mast’ mystery.

“The mobile phone mast opposite the cemetery at Slippery Back was removed in January because it was built from timber and had started to rot in the 22 years since it was installed. Since then, it's not been replaced, leaving Tenby with virtually no mobile phone service,” they explained.

“The mast was shared by all four networks - Vodafone, O2, EE, and Three - so the removal of this mast has had a huge impact on Tenby, removing signal from most of the town no matter what network you're with.

“Tenby has always had signal difficulties because back in the 2000s the council vehemently rejected a more central antenna discreetly hidden inside a flagpole atop the Royal Lion Hotel - unbelievably deciding that it would put an end to Tenby's tourism because nobody would want to visit, and it would cause health problems, and it would destroy the views, when in reality it would have been invisible from street level and flagpoles are completely discreet and inconspicuous - nobody would have even known it was there!

“It was a very short sighted decision because it's meant Tenby has been forced to suffer with poor signal ever since. But at least we had the mast at the cemetery providing a basic level of service.

“Now that it no longer exists, signal has totally disappeared, making an already bad situation even worse. It's completely understandable if the mast at the cemetery had to be replaced for health and safety because of its rotting, that's fair enough - but surely in these circumstances it should actually be replaced!” they continued.

Indeed a planning application was given unanimous approval 2 years ago to do exactly that - with an application to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority [reference: NP/23/0238/FUL] overwhelmingly supported - with councillors saying that "any improvement in signal is welcome and desperately needed".

“So that begs the question - given that the mobile networks already successfully obtained permission 2 years ago to replace and upgrade the mast, why on earth has the old mast been removed but the new upgraded mast still hasn't been built 4 months later?” continued the complainant.

“It beggars belief that they have removed the old mast and then simply abandoned Tenby with no service, instead of building the replacement that they already hold permission for.

“The overwhelming local feeling of frustration is palpable. It's having a huge impact on businesses, residents, and of course visitors - and it's gone on long enough. After 4 months of no progress since the mast disappeared, something has to be done!” they added.

County Councillor for Tenby’s North ward, Cllr Michael Williams has previously raised the issue with Pembrokeshire County Council’s trading standards department, warning that unreliable mobile signal was becoming a serious concern for both residents and businesses.

In raising the matter, after another busy holiday season last year, Cllr Williams stated: “I am receiving numerous complaints about the extremely poor quality of coverage in the Tenby area, in particular over the Ironman weekend.

“The response that I have received all summer is the huge demand on the service, frankly this isn't acceptable, with one business in the area having no coverage for six weeks.

“I have complained to Trading Standards who respond that it isn't their concern, the only route I assume is the Government regulator.”

He continued: All the providers are blaming visitor numbers, but that excuse doesn’t justify the charges people are paying.

“It’s the same problem every year, and it’s time something was done!”

Back towards the tail end of 2023, members of Tenby Town Council recommended refusal for the relocation and design alteration of a telecommunications mast located on one of the seaside town’s hotels as being ‘visually intrusive’

The application (NP/23/0291/FUL) put forward by EE Limited to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority [PCNPA] for the relocation and renewed design of a telecommunications mast, at Park Hotel on North Cliffe was subsequently passed, but since then futher plans have been approved for an application by Telent Technology Services Limited [on behalf of EE Ltd] to PCNPA for the installation of electronic communications apparatus at the seven-storey complex at Croft Court which overlooks Tenby’s North Beach - although again, no date has been given for this work to be carried out.

Plans for a replacement 20-metre high 4G telecommunications mast near Tenby in the neighbouring village of Penally, were also given the go-ahead by Pembrokeshire County Council towards the end of last year

The application for a mobile base station for the mobile network operators (MNOs) EE Ltd and Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, in conjunction with Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), the site owned/operated by Cellnex UK was passed for a site at Strawberry Lane in Penally.

The applicants’ supporting statement said: “Economically, the upgrade of the telecommunications infrastructure is essential to supporting local businesses, residents, and visitors in Penally and the wider Tenby area by delivering improved digital connectivity, which is vital for economic resilience, flexible working, and remote access to services.”