Rural south west Wales is in line to get improved mobile phone coverage thanks to a long running parliamentary campaign backed by local MP Simon Hart.

OFCOM has announced proposals to increase broadband coverage to an estimated 98% of the UK population.

This has left up to six million people, mainly in rural areas, with poor coverage.

Mr Hart was one of the leaders of the campaign to improve the service. He signed a back-bench business committee debate urging OFCOM to increase the coverage to at least 98 % of the population and also spoke in the debate in the House of Commons last May saying:

"This is a serious social and economic problem. It affects small and medium-sized businesses in rural Britain, the elderly in the more lonely parts of our rural communities; the work of the charities and carers who look after the elderly and vulnerable in those areas, and young people in rural areas."

In October, the Chancellor of the Exchequer responded to the debate by committing an extra £150 million to build thousands of new mobile phone masts to cover rural areas.

In November the Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee slammed OFCOM's coverage target of 95% as 'unambitious' and backed Simon Hart's call for a 98% coverage obligation.

In today's announcement, OFCOM proposes options which should ensure that 98% or more of the population receives 4G mobile broadband coverage. This means that millions who currently do not have a mobile signal will now receive one, and that millions more will have their signal upgraded from a 2G 'voice' signal to a 4G signal, capable of carrying broadband data.

"This investment will transform the fortunes of thousands of small and medium sized businesses, currently hamstrung by inadequate mobile phone and internet coverage," said Mr Hart.

"Hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, farms and businesses in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire will get access to decent mobile and internet coverage for the first time."