A market town's mobile phone users could soon be better connected after a telecommunications firm entered plans to install new 4G transmitters.

Cornerstone Telecomm-unications Infrastructure Limited is looking to upgrade Thetford's mobile phone masts, in Raymond Street, to the high-speed 4G network.

It has applied to Breckland Council for planning permission to replace six existing antennas and two equipment cabinets with new and improved technology.

The revamp will improve on Thetford's current service, which only offers up to 3G speeds.

In documents given to Breckland outlining the need for the application, Cornerstone states that the improvement is needed as more people use their mobiles to get online.

'Each mobile phone base is only capable of handling a finite number of calls at any one time and in urban areas additional base stations are required to cater for the substantial demand and need,' a report states.

'Additionally, particularly in residential suburban areas such as Thetford, with the level of data use now within households, and many of those households having numerous devices such as iPads and tablets, additional 4G capacity is further required to cater for the insatiable and substantial demand for data on the network.'

The plans come as part of a nationwide roll-out following an agreement by Telefonica UK Ltd (O2) and Vodafone to jointly operate and manage a single network across the UK.

Cornerstone said the upgrade is 'minor', but should serve the town centre.

Terry Jermy, Norfolk county councillor for Thetford West, said the work was positive news.

'Increasingly mobile phones are an important part of daily life and people rely on them for much more, not just making phone calls.

'Having 4G will help a lot of people. Some places don't even have 3G, so this is definitely something to welcome,' he said.

What do you think about mobile phone coverage in Norfolk? Let us know by emailing andrew.fitchett@archant.co.uk