Even the moon will get a reliable phone signal before some rural homes in Britain, study finds

The Moon will receive a reliable phone signal before some rural homes across Britain, a study has found.

The first lunar network is about to be launched in one of the most inhospitable environments humans have ever reached – some 240,000 miles from Earth.

Yet authorities in parts of the UK – from Richmondshire to the Forest of Dean – report that some local people are still failing to get any 4G reception while sitting on their sofas.

On the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast, no homes or businesses indoors were able to get signal from any of the four main providers.

Analysis by price comparison service Uswitch found the only Britons able to rely on stable 4G from EE, Virgin Media O2, Three and Vodafone while inside were all in London. 

Nokia has been working with NASA to provide a 4G network on the Moon that will be able to both survive the journey into space and operate under extreme temperatures and high radiation levels. 

It will enable a direct link to Earth, allowing mission control to receive data and images and remotely operate two lunar vehicles as they roam across the surface.

Finnish telecoms giant Nokia – which plans to launch the Moon scheme this month – said its engineers had not needed to 'reinvent the wheel' but simply rely on the technology that already connects billions of smartphones on Earth. 

Yet, back on this planet, an analysis of Ofcom's Connected Nations report found that some in the UK could only dream of the connection those up in space will have. 

The study found one in ten 'indoor premises' in Ceredigion, Wales, are still unable to get any 4G coverage.

Meanwhile around one in 20 could not get any connection within the authority boundaries of West Devon, Richmondshire and the Forest of Dean.

There was not a single place on the Isles of Scilly that received 4G connection from any of the 'Big Four' operators.

The only authorities to report 100 per cent signal from all networks indoors were the City of London, Hackney, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, and Lambeth.