MPs Warn Digital Landline Switch Could Leave Remote Areas Cut Off
MPs for remote constituencies have urged the security minister, Dan Jarvis, to make sure the switch from copper landlines to an internet-based network does not leave people unable to call for help in a storm. The switch is due to finish by the end of January. Unlike digital lines, the old network works in a power cut; back-up batteries given to vulnerable customers last an hour or more.
The government and operators say digital landlines will be more reliable, but the objection is about resilience rather than everyday service. “When the power goes out people don’t have the phone, they don’t have the internet and often they don’t have a mobile signal either,” said Torcuil Crichton, the Labour MP for the Western Isles. He called the batteries “simply not adequate”. Markus Campbell-Savours, for Penrith and Solway, described an elderly constituent in a Lake District valley whose router, battery and mobile mast all fail overnight. The Conservative Julian Lewis raised similar concerns, as did MPs from the West Country. The pressure is cross-party, and the January deadline is close.