Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of BT's Digital Voice rollout on households without reliable electricity supply or mobile coverage; and what measures they are requiring BT to implement to ensure that such households maintain a reliable telephone service.

The Government is determined to ensure any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers.

Major communication providers, including BT, signed a voluntary charter in December 2023 to protect vulnerable customers. In November 2024, providers agreed additional safeguards in the Non-Voluntary Migrations Checklist. This includes requirements to provide increased resilience for vulnerable customers, including those who depend on a landline, to enable access to emergency organisations for at least one hour during a power cut. In addition, several networks are bringing in batteries that can provide longer backup during a power cut.

The Government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. We have delivered our commitment for 95% of the UK to have access to a 4G signal through the Shared Rural Network, but our ambition is to go further, with all populated areas having higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.