Alun Cairns is the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan and was first elected in May 2010. He lives in the constituency with his wife, Emma, who runs her own small business, and their son, Henri.

First of all, it is good to be back writing for the Cowbridge Nub News. They are a valuable local news outlet and they can do a lot for the community of Cowbridge.

When I often visit Cowbridge and speak to traders and residents, I encounter an all too familiar problem faced by many, the poor mobile coverage. In a fast-developing world where 5G is commonplace and ultra-super-fast connection speeds, many in Cowbridge suffer from very poor coverage, if anything at all!

I have been aware of this problem for some time, as have many others in the town, yet it only sparked my attention when I saw it dramatically affect traders. I was visiting a shop on the High Street, talking to traders as I regularly do, and the shop owner was unable to connect to their debit card machine due to poor service.

The customer had no cash and no time to wait for the connection to be regained and they ended up walking out having not bought anything at all. The trader said this happens all too often and affects trade regularly. I was shocked, and I was determined to take this issue up with the network providers.

I have since been in touch with 02, Three, EE and Vodafone and have met individually with representatives of these providers to push for better coverage, and to ask what plans they have forthcoming for Cowbridge.

Naturally, Cowbridge brings challenges with its topography and rural setting, but a town the size of Cowbridge, I believe, deserves much greater attention from network providers. I have been pushing each of the providers to bring forward plans and to demand better coverage.

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) offers these network providers with a fantastic opportunity to deliver for Cowbridge. The SRN is a deal with EE, O2, Three and Vodafone investing in a network of new and existing phone masts which will be a huge boost for people across the country in rural areas and will deliver strong 4G coverage irrespective of what network provider people use.

I plan to meet with these network providers in the town to highlight the challenges and to push them to work together to improve the coverage.

I will be sure to update Nub News and the residents of Cowbridge as these plans develop. Cowbridge deserves better coverage and I am determined to help deliver it!