SHOPKEEPERS say “terrible” internet and phone coverage in the town is impacting businesses and inconveniencing customers – despite a council’s ongoing bid to improve 5G connectivity. An estimated 200,000 day-trippers flocked to Llandudno over the bank holiday weekend as the annual Victorian Extravaganza came to town for its 40th anniversary.
But the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to numerous shopkeepers in the seaside resort who continue to report blackspots in the town centre, despite the council working with 5G providers. Traders say the problem is made worse, as even if credit and debit cards work, many people now pay on their mobile phones, which require a connection.
Other shopkeepers reported customers having to constantly leave their store whilst trying to get an internet or phone service. Kelly Dykes is the manager of Taylor’s Café Bar on Lloyd Street and explained the problem.
“The internet is absolutely rubbish,” she said. “A lot of businesses have Wi-Fi, but it still affects people, especially people coming on holiday trying to shop around Llandudno, and they can’t get a signal at all, unless they go into a shop to connect to Wi-Fi. It is a bit of a nightmare.
“People complain about phones too. They don’t even ring. They say there is 4G and 5G, but it doesn’t work. Mobile data doesn’t work at all.”
Kevin Ward runs The Great British Cheese Company on the pier. Kevin explained more needed to be done to improve the internet in Llandudno as many people now made electronic payments on their phones. “Connection is not good on the pier,” he said.
“It is the phone signal that is bad. Sometimes people pay using their phones. That is when the connection is bad. My card machines are up to date. They can search all the networks, so they pretty much work all the time. But during the extravaganza, even these machines were taking two or three goes, and if people didn’t have up-to-date machines, they wouldn’t work at all. It will affect businesses if people only have cash because since COVID not everyone carries cash.”
Mark Patterson has run his UTA K9 premium dog food store on Lloyd Street for the past 11 months. “The internet and phones are terrible,” he said. “I can’t use my mobile. I literally have to go outside. I get no signal at all in the shop.
“It does affect business if customers are trying to get through to you, and they just get the answerphone, and then I get the message when I get one bar of signal. The signal drops in and out.” He added “It’s also if customers want to search for something they want and can’t get the internet. They have to stand outside and try to get a signal.”
Mandy Evans has run the Sweet Emporium on Mostyn Street for 12 years and said the lack of a phone signal caused problems for both her and her customers. “We don’t get messages or phone calls on our phones unless you go outside, and still when you go outside, it is not very good,” she said.
“It can cost businesses money. Over the weekend, people were coming into the shop, families, after their husbands dropped them off. Then their mobiles weren’t working (when arranging to be picked up or to meet up). So it causes problems.”
A Rhos-on-Sea resident said he no longer visits Llandudno’s high street because of the lack of a signal: “It is awful. Over the last five years, going to Llandudno, the signal is getting worse, to the point now I avoid going to Mostyn Street as my phone won’t work, and I’m not the only one.”
Speaking at a Conwy harbour advisory meeting at Bodlondeb in October, cabinet member for infrastructure, transport, and facilities, Cllr Goronwy Edwards told councillors the council was working to resolve the issue, explaining the authority was in talks with a prominent 5G provider. Cllr Edwards said Conwy were working with the company Freshwave about the possibility of having 5G in both Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, but the council is yet to find a resolution to the issue.
Llandudno councillor Louise Emery said a number of planning applications had been submitted for phone masts, such as on Builder Street and St Mary’s Road, but hadn’t been successful. “It is an age-old problem as old as the goats eating things out of people’s gardens,” she said.
“There is a very poor reception in the centre of town. I don’t know whether it has to do with the layout of the town, the buildings. There really is a blackspot.” Cllr Emery explained the council had set up a Wi-Fi system people could log into on Mostyn Street.
The Wi-Fi scheme caused controversy in December 2022 as it was revealed Conwy were tracking people’s phones for footfall along the high street with sensors. But Cllr Emery said the Wi-Fi scheme hadn’t resolved the issue completely. “Over the years, the council has tried. They’ve installed that Wi-Fi system on Mostyn Street where you can log in, but most people wouldn’t do that. It’s not too easy to follow,” she said.
“There was a mast company wanting to put a mast on St Mary’s Road, and obviously the residents were really unhappy about that. In the end it didn’t happen, and I think that is the reality. There has got to be a balance between getting a phone signal and people wanting to live very close to mobile phone masts.”
She added: “Mobile phone companies want you to have a signal. That’s how they sell themselves. So there have been many attempts by mobile phone companies to try and improve the signal in Llandudno. But I think there has been a real issue of where you put these phone masts, and some mobile networks are better than others. I don’t see how the council can solve it without working very closely with mobile phone providers and finding places where you can put masts.” Conwy County Council was contacted, but nobody was available to comment.
A Conwy County Council spokeswoman said: “The issue of poor connectivity to the mobile network in some areas of Conwy is longstanding. Whilst the mobile network is not the council’s responsibility, both UK and Welsh Government are encouraging local authorities to play a role in facilitating improvements to digital connectivity and making it easier for mobile network operators to make the investment necessary to improve infrastructure.
“We signed a non-exclusive agreement with a connectivity infrastructure provider in November 2024. This agreement enables them to use small cell devices, a type of wireless communication infrastructure, on street lighting and other electrical assets owned by the council. This infrastructure could allow mobile network operators to improve the 4G and, potentially, 5G coverage across the county.” She added: “We continue to look at opportunities with other providers.”
