Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what lessons have been learned from Storm Austen regarding digital landlines in (a) Hampshire and (b) England.

Telecoms networks are designed with high levels of resilience, but certain events, such as storms and associated power cuts can still cause disruption for all networks, including digital lines. There are statutory obligations on communications providers to ensure their networks and services remain available, and Ofcom have published Network and Service Resilience Guidance that sets out expectations on how providers can meet statutory obligations.

DCMS works with industry and Ofcom to ensure learning from significant outages is captured and assessed in terms of specific actions that would apply in Hampshire and across the UK. Whilst no specific additional lessons were identified from Storm Austen the department can offer advice on this area.

For example, Ofcom has issued guidance to ensure that vulnerable people can contact the emergency services during power cuts. Providers of fixed lines must offer at least one solution that enables access to emergency services for a minimum of one hour during a power outage in the premises. These solutions must meet customers’ needs and be provided free of charge to those who are at risk. These are minimum requirements, and many providers exceed them. For instance, in March 2025, providers including BT, Vodafone, KCOM and Zen Internet announced the availability of battery back‑up units capable of powering routers for between four and seven hours. Customers who are not classed as vulnerable may purchase these from their provider. These measures are intended to prevent disconnection and ensure that people can contact the emergency services during shorter power interruptions and should be considered where appropriate.

Also, the Government has asked the electricity and telecoms sectors to intensify their collaboration through a number of initiatives to reduce the likelihood of power outages affecting telecoms services, and to reduce the impacts where that does occur. We will continue to closely support and oversee this cross-sector work to ensure that the intended benefits are fully realised for citizens across the country.

Looking ahead, resilience will continue to improve through ongoing investment and innovation, including new satellite capabilities and technologies that allow devices to connect across multiple networks. We will continue to monitor these developments to ensure the UK’s communications networks remain resilient in the face of future challenges.