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BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
5G masts: West Belfast residents fear and stress over phone signal
A series of arson attacks on 5G masts in west Belfast have left people feeling like they are "going backwards" in terms of mobile phone signal, residents and businesses in the area say. A mast that police said was deliberately set on fire at an industrial estate in Dunmurry on Saturday has been extinguished. Between January 2023 and December 2024, there were 13 incidents involving masts in the area, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has said. The vandalism has resulted in sporadic, unreliable phone signal in some areas, with one man who lives on the Glen Road saying it is "very frustrating" when it "fades out completely". Attacks include phone masts being deliberately set on fire on the Andersonstown Road and Stewartstown Road."I'm on work calls and I have to try to second guess the exact spot in the house to stand in, so that I can continue a conversation," Jim Deeds told BBC News NI. His mother is housebound and recently had a fall. He said she "relies on the mobile phone, just to check in through the day"."There are times when I'm on a call with her and it sounds like she's underwater."Sometimes she feels that she's to blame, that maybe she's not mastering the technology when it isn't that at all," he said.A spokesperson for Virgin Media O2 said five west Belfast sites have been the target of arson attacks in the last 12 months, affecting "the coverage and capacity of the network".It said its team was "working hard to get these damaged masts working again and has carried out optimisation work to improve the coverage whilst repairs take place". Other network providers are also affected by the mast attacks. What is behind the west Belfast mast attacks? While the masts carry signal for a phone network, the actual physical infrastructure is owned and operated by the firm Cornerstone - it said it was aware some people have concerns about mobile phone base stations."The strong consensus of expert groups and public health agencies, such as the World Health Organization, is that no health risks have been established from exposure to the low-level radio signals used by these base stations," Cornerstone said. "Without network coverage, west Belfast will miss out on the kind of opportunities that will make the area a better place to live." The Police Service of Northern Ireland "believe it is one anti 5G activist individual carrying out the mobile phone base station arson attacks," Cornerstone News NI asked the PSNI about this, and they said that "officers keep an open mind to reports of this nature" but added "potential links are explored" and "each case is reviewed on its own merit".The PSNI was also asked for the number of 5G phone masts that have been burned but it said it does not hold that MP for the area, Sinn Féin's Paul Maskey, wants Cornerstone and network providers to do is due to meet those companies at Westminster on Wednesday, when he said he will ask them to find locations for masts "which are out of the way".Maskey described the signal in west Belfast as "pretty bad for a long time" and he recently conducted a survey to gauge the scale of the said, from the 2,602 people who responded, 87% described phone signal as poor or very poor, with only 3% saying it was good or described the results as "staggering", adding: "People are very unhappy." The deputy lord mayor of Belfast Paul Doherty, from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), runs a food bank and community hub in Andersonstown. He said they have had to "change and adapt" the way they work because of poor signal."We have to bring in extra volunteers for a call-out service to knock on people's doors."In some cases we've found that people are very much isolated, unable to pick up the phone to ask for help, so that's kind of stretched us," he added. What do west Belfast people think about their phone signal? On the streets of west Belfast, people and business owners told BBC News NI of their connectivity issues."There's no signal in the house," said Bridget Mongan, who lives in the Andersonstown daughter, Mary, added: "It cuts off."The weather could be bad, but you stand out in the rain." A staff member at McGrath's Pharmacy on the Glen Road said the signal "can come on and off".Noleen recalled "one incident, whenever our phones were down, we couldn't actually call out to the company to get in contact to say to them that we're having problems". "Also with customers too we can have problems if they're missing their medication; to get through to their surgeries and GP can be a bit of a problem," she added. Debbie Adams, manager at Gransha Dental, on the Glen Road, said: "I don't think at this rate that we're even getting 2G. "We're going backwards, instead of forwards, in terms of the connectivity."She said sometimes when customers need to make a payment towards treatments, "they need to then transfer from their phone to bank account to bank account, and with lack of signal it makes it difficult to do that and it causes undue stress."Meanwhile, Paul Doherty welcomed two masts being erected on the Turf Lodge and Glen Road area, but said he's "pushing" for a mast on the Andersonstown Road to be reinstalled after it was set on fire in November 2024."There's been cases were someone's fallen at home, a person has suffered a health emergency and they could not call for help.""Imagine the fear; imagine the loneliness."
BBC News
11-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Town with three year struggle for mobile phone signal
Residents who have struggled to get a good mobile phone signal in their town for three years have now learnt the issue was caused by vandalism of its local residents in Middleton, Greater Manchester, had assumed the lack of signal was "because it's a hilly area", according to local phone shop owner Ali Salam."If you ask 10 people about this, nine will be complaining," he the scale of complaints by businesses and residents, local MP Elsie Blundell said she spent "several months" investigating the problem, adding that she found: "Vandalism by a small group of people had left an entire town at risk of being disconnected and losing mobile signal." The damage had sabotaged the mast at the top of the Warwick Mill premises in the town centre, reducing coverage in the Blundell said: "Obviously, I'm angry that some heartless vandals could do that to our town."More importantly, though, we needed to find a replacement soon to get the town working again." Ms Blundell said she had been "chasing the mobile companies for several months" before she met mobile infrastructure firm Cornerstone this April to "understand the problems that had been occurring with their mast on top of the mill".A Cornerstone spokesperson said: "We had a constructive conversation about developments currently being assessed by the local planning authority."Our priority is to work collaboratively and transparently with the local planning authority to meet connectivity needs in a way that respects the local environment and community."Some residents said they noticed the decline in coverage about three years ago, with one saying: "My boss lives in the middle of nowhere and gets a better signal than here." Ashley Wakefield , who lives in the town centre, added: "I'm a foster carer, so it's a real problem for me."There have been times I've had to go into the shopping centre to use the wi-fi to get my bus pass to work. It's super inconvenient."Peter Winkler said his printing business "had to set up a guest wi-fi network because the signal is so bad"."Prior to that we'd have to suggest leaving the shop to get a signal, which seems counter-intuitive." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
