Mobile phone blackspots in rural areas that leave people with calls being cut off mid-conversation could become a thing of the past under plans reportedly being discussed by ministers.
Negotiations are taking place with mobile phone operators about asking them to help increase coverage by sharing phone masts, which would allow for the introduction of national roaming in the UK, the Daily Telegraph said.
National roaming sees phones switching from one operator to another when service is not available through a particular provider, which is what happens when people travel abroad.
It would address the problem of partial "not-spots", areas where only some of the major networks are available.
"Connectivity is vitally important to running an efficient and successful business and here in the Westcountry we are all familiar with the frustration of voice and data 'not-spots' when it comes to mobile communications," said Chris Pomfret, chairman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership.
"I have no doubt the business community would welcome any steps towards creating a more robust mobile service."
The move would be good news for hundreds of thousands of people but could provoke resistance from mobile phone companies over sharing mobile phone masts with rivals.
A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "The Government has made clear it wants to ensure the UK has world-class mobile phone coverage as part of our investment in infrastructure for the long term economic plan.
"We are investing up to £150 million to improve mobile coverage in areas where there is currently no coverage from any of the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
"Of course we want to look at what more can be done in areas with poor coverage."
Councillor Julian German, portfolio holder for economy and culture at Cornwall County Council, also welcomed the announcement.
"We have seen the very positive impacts that projects like superfast broadband have made for residents and business in Cornwall," he said. "We hope the reports of Government potentially tackling the issue of network 'not-spots' will come to fruition."
