Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of requiring providers of digital landline services to provide a battery back-up of greater than one hour duration for vulnerable and landline dependent customers.

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK.

In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services go beyond one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours. This includes Vodafone, BT, KCOM, and Zen Internet. Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, are responsible for setting minimum standards.

In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.