Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring all mobile network operators to send regular text messages to customers stating that when they have no signal on their handset they can still seek to place an emergency 999 call.

On a typical handset, when there is no signal from any network, it is not possible to make emergency calls. If there is no signal from your regular mobile network provider, but there is signal from another mobile network provider, a 999 call will automatically roam onto another mobile network free-of-charge.

To improve 4G coverage the Government agreed a deal with the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in March 2020 to deliver the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. This agreement will see the Government and industry jointly invest over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK to 95% geographic coverage by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. Part of the programme will deliver new masts in total not-spot areas which will enable calls to 999 to be made through the mobile network for the first time in these areas.

Certain mobile handsets have the capability to use satellite communications via third-party call centres which could allow 999 calls to be made even when a mobile signal isn’t available. This solution however is only available in a small number of handsets and is therefore only available to a small segment of the public.