A VILLAGE with poor mobile signal has been given a boost through a special rural open sure signal scheme, which could offer hope to other areas which are struggling.

The village of Scorton, near Richmond, has traditionally struggled with mobile and internet signal and been dubbed a not spot by the community. Vodafone has now installed a small low powered unit, to work with existing broadband to create a 3G signal and provide blanket coverage for the village.

The work was carried out after a campaign by village champion Ian Threlfall and MP Rishi Sunak, who said it was needed to keep the community in touch and help support the local economy. A spokesman for Vodafone said the technology had been installed across several locations in the village.

“This means the wider community will now have good quality mobile signal for the first time and are better able to take part in and enjoy the social and business benefits that mobile connectivity can bring,” he added.

They say there can be problems in remote and rural locations because of the complexity of delivering network coverage but through the open sure scheme they are working to address problems. For more information go to http://blog.vodafone.co.uk/2014/11/07/vodafone-uk-ceo-jeroen-hoencamp-talks-ross100/ .