UK Digital Landline Switchover Risks Leaving Remote Areas Without Emergency Contact

Plans to replace the traditional copper-wire telephone network with internet-based digital landlines by January could leave people in remote areas unable to call for help during emergencies. Landline operators and the government state that the move will provide a more reliable service overall, and that the older analogue network is becoming less reliable. However, unlike digital services, traditional landlines do not need mains electricity and continue to work during power cuts.

Concerns and Responses

MPs from remote parts of the UK, including the Western Isles, the West Country, and the Lake District, urged security minister Dan Jarvis to protect vulnerable communities from storms and other emergencies. Labour MP Torcuil Crichton stated that connectivity is a major problem and that people lose their phones, internet, and mobile signals when power goes out. BT OpenReach currently provides back-up battery packs to vulnerable customers to keep phones working for an hour or more, but Crichton called this inadequate. Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours asked the minister how an elderly person in an isolated valley could raise an alarm if a storm cuts power to their router and the battery back-up fails. Conservative MP Julian Lewis also warned about the lack of a back-up system during cyber attacks or emergencies, noting that copper wires provided useful resilience. Security minister Dan Jarvis promised to look closely at these points, address concerns at a government resilience summit in Cornwall, and discuss the matter with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Context

Telephone networks form a critical part of national infrastructure for emergency responses during weather crises. The government advises people who have not yet moved to the modern digital network to contact their landline provider, and notes that communication providers must supply a free back-up battery unit to vulnerable users such as telecare customers.