TRADERS, VISITORS AND RESIDENTS SAY POOR COVERAGE IS HITTING PAYMENTS, PARKING, BOOKINGS AND SAFETY

HUNDREDS of residents, traders and visitors have responded to a public appeal for evidence about poor mobile phone signal in Tenby, with complaints now running to more than 500 comments.

The appeal was posted by Around Tenby as part of work with Tenby Chamber of Trade & Tourism, which is gathering evidence to take directly to mobile networks in a bid to secure improvements before the summer season.

People were asked to list their network, the worst-affected areas, and how poor signal was affecting them.

The responses paint a picture of widespread problems across EE, O2, Vodafone, Three, Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff, Sky Mobile, Lebara, ID Mobile, Lyca, Talk Mobile and other providers.

Complaints cover Tenby town centre, the High Street, the harbour, North Beach, South Beach, the Esplanade, The Green, Frog Street, the multi-storey car park, Sainsbury’s car park, Kiln Park, Penally, New Hedges, Lydstep, Manorbier and Saundersfoot.

‘Better signal on Caldey’

One commenter, Elizabeth Perrella, summed up the frustration, writing: “We had a better signal on Caldey than we do in Tenby!”

Others said the lack of coverage was the only downside to an otherwise beautiful town.

One EE user said: “Can’t pay with my phone in places. It’s the only downside to this beautiful place.”

Another resident, who uses Vodafone, said they live in Tenby and had “not had a signal for months now”.

Several people said the issue becomes significantly worse during busy periods, when visitor numbers rise sharply.

David Walters, an EE customer, said: “EE works in the winter but appears network can’t cope in the summer.”

Another commenter said their phone showed two or three bars, but calls and texts still failed when the town was busy because the mast appeared to be over capacity.

Businesses affected

Many of the comments raised concerns about the effect on businesses, especially those relying on phone calls, card payments, online bookings and mobile payment terminals.

One business owner said poor signal was causing lost sales because customers could not call someone to discuss a purchase.

Karen Ward wrote: “Really bad for business, if a customer needed to call someone regarding a sale and can’t get signal we lose a sale, this unfortunately happens often.”

Debz Jones, who uses Vodafone, said she was “losing lots of direct bookings because no one can get hold of us”.

Rhys Jones, an O2 user, said the problem was making it difficult to run a business, adding: “Can’t run a business to take calls for job enquiries or take payments.”

Road Runners Kilgetty said unstable signal was costing taxi work and making card payments difficult, adding: “NASA can talk to people going to the moon and we can’t talk to people from one village to another.”

Parking and EV charging problems

One of the strongest themes in the comments was the difficulty of using parking apps in Tenby’s car parks.

Several people said they had been unable to pay for parking using mobile apps because there was no signal in or around the multi-storey car park, Sainsbury’s car park and North Beach.

Paul Villa, an EE customer, said he could not get a signal in the multi-storey car park to pay, adding that he had to walk “a long way outside” and still struggled to load the app.

Mark Goodridge said there was “zero O2 reception” in the multi-storey where motorists are expected to use an app.

Others said poor signal was affecting electric vehicle charging, with drivers unable to access apps needed to start or pay for charging sessions.

Alison Lydia Sinclair wrote that Pembrokeshire car parks needed card machines, adding: “Remote payment is usually impossible because of the signal problems.”

Health and safety concerns

Some commenters said the problem was more than an inconvenience and could become a safety issue.

Mike Bennett, who works from the ambulance station at the Salterns, said the outage was now affecting “some elements of ambulance operations”.

Kate Thomas said she was on the beach when an ambulance was needed and the group struggled to get through and hear instructions from the call handler.

Another commenter said her brother, who is on dialysis and diabetic, lives in Tenby and would struggle to contact anyone in a medical emergency because of the lack of signal.

Parents also raised concerns about being unable to contact children when they are in town, while visitors said they had struggled to use maps, book taxis, contact family, or make arrangements after splitting up from groups.

Tourism impact

Several visitors said the lack of signal made their stay more difficult.

One holidaymaker said they had no signal with Tesco Mobile anywhere in Tenby over the weekend.

Another Vodafone user said they had paid extra for WiFi on an upcoming trip, only for it to be cancelled because of the wider connectivity problems, warning that the issue could affect whether people choose to visit.

Remote workers and caravan owners also said the poor signal was limiting how often they could stay in the area.

Carl Singleton, an EE customer with a caravan near Lydstep, said he was self-employed and used Teams daily, but the signal was not strong enough to work from his caravan. He said the poor mobile network was preventing him from spending more time in Pembrokeshire.

Kathryn South, another EE user with a van near Lydstep, said she could use it more often if she could work from home there, but the internet was “non-existent”.

Mast removal concerns

A number of commenters linked the deterioration in signal to the removal of a mast earlier this year.

Margaret Wales wrote that the mast opposite the cemetery had been shared by all networks and claimed its removal in January was why the signal was now “terrible all over Tenby”.

She said: “You can’t get signal without a mast. Until the networks rebuild it, things won’t change. That’s where the effort needs to be focussed. Rebuild the mast, restore the signal.”

Other users said they had been told by their providers that a mast had been removed or that a site was affected by a rent dispute.

The Herald has not independently verified those claims, but they echo concerns raised by Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell in a letter to BT Group.

MP demands answers

Mr Tufnell has written to BT Group asking for an update on the proposed EE mobile base station at Petals Plant Nursery, Strawberry Lane, Penally.

Pembrokeshire County Council has granted planning permission for a new 20-metre 4G telecommunications mast at the site.

In his letter, Mr Tufnell said constituents had also advised him that the telecommunications mast at Slippery Back Lane, Tenby, had been removed but had not yet been replaced.

He said this had reportedly left the Tenby area with very limited mobile phone signal, causing concern for residents and businesses.

Posting online, Mr Tufnell said: “Tenby deserves better phone signal.

“The lack of coverage is failing our residents, local businesses, and tourists. I have taken your concerns directly to EE and BT.

“With summer fast approaching, we need urgent answers and a clear timetable for improvements.”

Call for evidence

Around Tenby said the information being gathered would be pulled together and taken directly to the networks.

The post said: “Right now, poor signal isn’t just frustrating, it’s affecting local businesses, card payments, bookings, and the experience visitors have when they come here.

“The more responses we get, the stronger our case becomes.”

With Tenby preparing for another busy summer season, the scale of the response suggests mobile coverage has become one of the town’s most pressing practical problems.

For residents, it affects daily life. For businesses, it risks lost income. For visitors, it affects payments, parking, maps and bookings. And for some, the concern is now about safety.

Network providers will now face growing pressure to explain what has gone wrong, what temporary measures can be put in place, and when Tenby can expect reliable mobile coverage.