Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mobile network providers maintain (a) reliable coverage and (b) service quality in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage. That is why our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural areas, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and to increase 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025 through the Shared Rural Network programme.
Ofcom is responsible for measuring and reporting on mobile network coverage. Far too often the data published by Ofcom does not match consumers’ experience of using mobile networks. I recently wrote to Ofcom asking them to set out steps to improve their mobile coverage reporting.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Honiton and Sidmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the planned switch from the Public Switched Telephone Network to Voice over Internet Protocol does not compromise (a) national security and (b) critical communications during emergencies.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Since the general election I have worked with other departments and industry in an effort to ensure that the industry’s necessary retirement of the Public Switched Telephone Network does not compromise national security, and that vulnerable people and others retain connectivity during emergencies. The Department holds quarterly cross-Government engagement groups to discuss switchover risks, to which all Government departments and Devolved Administrations are invited. I intend to hold a further meeting soon with all operators and stakeholders to ensure risks are minimised.
Ofcom ensures that companies identify, prepare for, and reduce the risk of anything that compromises the availability, performance, or functionality of their network or service, including during emergencies, as required by the Communications Act 2003 and the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021.