Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with Ofcom on the potential merits of increasing the minimum requirement for the battery life of an emergency back-up line provided to properties switched to the digital phone network.

Government is committed to improving protections for those who depend on their landline for connectivity. All signatories to the PSTN charter, agreed in December 2023, have committed to working to provide solutions that go beyond the Ofcom minimum guidance. Ofcom guidance states that communications providers should have at least one solution that enables access to emergency organisations, for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage. Communication Providers are required to meet standards and specifications set out in the General Conditions of Entitlement, under obligations imposed by the Communications Act 2003, to ensure continuity of service.

Last year, DSIT asked Ofcom to consider how the general resilience of telecommunications services in the event of prolonged power outages served the needs of customers. In response, Ofcom launched a consultation on the resilience of the sector which included a separate call for input on power backup for mobile radio access networks that closed on 1 March. Ofcom is currently considering the responses.