Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her Department's policy to ensure that the proposed changes to the Public Switched Telephone Network in 2025 are accompanied by improved broadband access and speeds, especially in more rural areas.

The Public Switched Telephone Network is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it has been taken by the telecoms industry, not the government. The decision has been taken as the network is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure, and spare parts are becoming harder to source due to a reduction in global production.

However, some Internet Service Providers are planning on migrating customers from PSTN connections only when a full-fibre connection is available at their premises, meaning higher broadband speeds and greater reliability.

More broadly, the government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Today, over 65% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks, up from just one in ten in November 2019. The Government is also investing £5 billion as part of Project Gigabit to ensure the hardest-to-reach areas in the UK receive coverage: up to 2.5 million premises are within the scope of procurements we have already announced.