RURAL mobile phone users are much more likely to suffer failed calls, reveals a survey.

People outside the UK's big cities are up to 4.5 times more likely to experience call failure on their mobile phones, according to research conducted by mobile analytics firm RootMetrics.

As part of a campaign by the Countryside Alliance to map mobile phone reception, people have been taking signal samples with their smartphones using RootMetric's free CoverageMap app.

Data compiled from the app and professional testing shows that people living outside major cities have a much poorer service from their mobile phone contracts.

One extreme example is in the vicinity of Leicester, where there is 13.7 times more chance your call will go to dead air than in the city itself.

Countryside Alliance executive chairman Barney White-Spunner said: "Our research shows mobile performance, particularly internet access and call rate, gets worse the further you get from major cities.

"This is perhaps understandable in terms of population density and the logistics of connecting more remote communities.

"However the fact that someone with extremely poor service in part of the country can pay the same as someone with excellent service elsewhere clearly shows something needs to be done."

The Countryside Alliance recommends four improvements.

Recommendations include 'national roaming' where a mobile phone uses a signal from another telecoms provider in the event that the user is unable to get a signal from their own supplier.

The alliance says this would reduce the number of "not-spots" in the country without the need to build new masts or increase the current infrastructure.

The campaigning organisation also calls for 4G rollout to have a clear and tight schedule to ensure that rural areas have access to its benefits by the 2017 deadline.

It says a mobile infrastructure project closely monitored by the government would ensure the initiative stays on track and delivers coverage to the 60,000 not-spots, within budget by March 2015.

This includes holding mobile operators to account if they are slow to occupy the new infrastructure.

At the same time, the alliance wants planning regulations simplified to enable government targets for digital connectivity and customers' demands for service to be met.

Sir Barney said the alliance hoped to create a true picture of UK phone reception in rural areas that we can use to lobby Government and phone companies.

For information on how to use the app and to see results so far, visit www.rootmetrics.com/uk.