Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 20 July (HL1533), whether the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 requires the provision of landlines to all (1) homes, (2) businesses, and (3) public sector organisations, in the UK.

The Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 requires at least one designated universal service provider to meet all reasonable requests by end-users for connection at a fixed location to the public electronic communications network and for access to publicly available telephone services over that communications network. The connection must be capable of allowing end-users to make and receive local, national and international telephone calls and facsimile.

These connections are available to residential premises, businesses and public sector organisations where a reasonable request is made.