Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with BT to ensure that consumers who do not have mobile signal in their homes will be able to contact emergency services during a power cut following the digital voice roll-out.

Communication Providers are required by the Communications Act (2003) to ensure the continuity of access to the Public Emergency Call Service, via the telephone numbers 999 and 112. These obligations are set out in the General Conditions of Entitlement and are regulated by Ofcom.

In 2018, Ofcom published guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil this General Condition in light of the industry’s decision to retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and replace it with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The guidance states that in the event of a power outage at least one solution must be available for consumers, providing access for a minimum of one hour. The solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline, such as those with no mobile phone signal. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.

The Government and Ofcom regularly engage with the telecoms industry to monitor their migration process and ensure providers are taking appropriate steps to protect vulnerable consumers. In January, Minister Julia Lopez held a roundtable with the major Communications Providers to discuss how the telecommunications industry will support consumers as they transition to VoIP services.