Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect there to be 100 per cent fast speed broadband coverage in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Superfast broadband (>=30Mbps) is now available to 98% of UK premises, with Project Gigabit delivering gigabit-capable broadband (>=1000 Mbps) to those not included in suppliers' commercial plans.
Over 86% of UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, according to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com. Our goal is that at least 99% of UK premises will be able to access gigabit coverage by 2030.
Some rural and remote premises will remain too expensive to build a gigabit-capable connection to. The government is considering what policy measures may be required to help provide them with ultrafast (>=100Mbps) connections.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to retain copper landlines in rural areas to ensure continuous telephone access during extreme weather events.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The copper landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network, is a privately-owned network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry. The industry’s decision to upgrade the PSTN is due to necessity, as the network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure. In 2024, Ofcom (the independent telecoms regulator) recorded a 45% increase in PSTN resilience incidents. The PSTN is not being retained anywhere.
In the event of a power cut caused by extreme weather events, telecoms companies have a regulatory obligation to ensure that customers have access to emergency services for a minimum of one hour, for example by providing them with battery back-ups that power telephones during a power outage. In practice, many are offering solutions which exceed these minimum standards.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of withdrawing telephone landlines on elderly and vulnerable customers, and whether they have made representations to telecommunications companies in this regard.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This is a very important issue which the government has been closely engaged with since it took office. It is important to note that landlines are not being withdrawn, but their underlying technology is being moved from Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
The switchover is an industry led programme. The Government is determined to ensure that any and all risks of the industry-led migration from PSTN to VoIP are mitigated. Communication providers and network operators signed voluntary charters in December 2023 and March 2024, ensuring their commitment to protect vulnerable consumers during the PSTN migration. On 18 November 2024, the major communication providers agreed to adhere to further safeguards set out in the non-voluntary migrations checklist before restarting non-voluntary migration of customers from PSTN to VoIP.