Poor phone reception in Allenwood, County Kildare, criticised by councillor

A councillor at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District (MD) meeting was critical of the phone reception in Allenwood.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick made the criticism at the latest MD meeting, which was held on Friday, January 6.

On the day, Cllr Fitzpatrick put forward a motion calling on Kildare County Council (KCC) 'to write to mobile network operators with a view to investigating reasons and improve networks in light of the very poor mobile signal in the general Allenwood area.'

His motion was seconded by Fine Gael Cllr Brendan Wyse.

Commenting on his own experience with the poor reception, Cllr Fitzpatrick said that he frequently encountered 'drops' in service anytime he used his phone in Allenwood.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Daragh Fitzpatrick

In response to his motion, KCC told Cllr Fitzpatrick that the Commission for Communications Regulation, also known as ComReg, has an outdoor mobile coverage map available, which can be used to check coverage and signal levels of all networks at any Eircode, via the website coveragemap.comreg.ie.

"The map allows mobile users to check the level of mobile coverage available in their homes," KCC noted in its report: "It will also help consumers when making choices between operators, based on predicted coverage availability in their area or chosen location."

KCC also said that poor coverage can occur for a variety of reasons, such as due to interference with building materials, the type of terrain and pressure on the network due to the number of people using it at any given time.

The council concluded by saying: "Consumers should engage with their current service provider if they are having problems with poor signal and connections."

Following the report, Cllr Fitzpatrick said that while he accepts the report, he stressed that something must be done about the issue.