COUNTRYSIDE campaigners have welcomed an Ofcom pledge to improve rural mobile phone coverage.

The five-point plan includes an undertaking to extend coverage to the 10% of the UK population who live in so-called hard-to-reach rural areas.

When 3G mobile spectrum licences were awarded in 2000, they included an obligation to roll-out services to 80% of the UK by population.

A decade later, the government directed Ofcom to increase this obligation further, requiring the mobile phone operators each to cover 90% of where the UK population lives.

The UK's main operators – EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone – all agreed to reach this new coverage obligation by a deadline of 30 June 2013.

Although three of the four companies have met the obligation, Vodafone has fallen 1.4% short of the 90% coverage requirement.

Vodafone now says it hopes to meet the target by the end of 2013.

The Countryside Alliance said it was disappointed Vodafone still had to increase its reach by 1.4%, saying it hoped the operator would achieve this by the year end as promised.

Countryside Alliance head of policy Sarah Lee said: "Mobile phone reception is vital for rural homes and businesses, but the reception you get on the ground can vary distinctly from that predicted by your provider."

The alliance launched a "Sick of No Signal" campaign earlier this year to try to map the reality of mobile phone not-spots in the countryside.

As part of the campaign, people across the UK have been taking signal samples with their smartphones using RootMetric's free CoverageMap app.

Data compiled from the app and professional testing will be used to create a map of coverage which will be used to lobby the government and mobile phone companies to improve reception.

The alliance said the map could also be used by the general public to gauge which provider offered the best service where they live.

Ofcom hopes coverage will improve through the government's £150m mobile infrastructure project, as well as on roads and railways.

"We are pleased that Ofcom recognises the significant problems experienced by those who have to travel in rural areas as part of their work," added Miss Lee.

Last month Ofcom reported that just 35% of the UK's A and B roads were served by all four 3G networks and 9% had no 3G coverage at all.