Angus MacNeil MP is calling on mobile operators EE and Vodafone to have a staffing presence in the Outer Hebrides who can be available to assist with the care and maintenance of equipment.
Mr MacNeil is pointing out that Faroese telecom company Føroya Telecom is Headquartered in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and branch offices are located throughout the country and they employ over 190 staff.
The MP said: "“Mobile operator giants EE and Vodafone currently do not employ staff in our islands, in stark contrast to the Faroese telecom company Føroya Telecom who have branch offices located throughout the country in addition to having their headquarters in Tórshavn.
“I am calling on EE and Vodafone and all major mobile operators to look seriously at recruiting staff who can be stationed in our islands to help fix problems when they occur. Outages should be repaired within hours but currently we are in the position where some faults take weeks or months to be repaired.
“BT employee engineers in our islands and they are on hand quickly to repair faults.
“We are all reliant on our mobile phones and operators must take seriously their commitment to customer care and employ staff in our islands.
"I will be writing to both EE and Vodafone in addition to highlighting this at Westminster to Ed Vaizey MP, Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport.”
MP asks mobile giants to recruit island based staff
29 June 2016