MP expresses concern over controversial move to switch to digital landlines

In Parliament last week, local MP Tim Farron questioned ministers over ongoing plans which are seeing Cumbria’s phone landlines switched off.

From December 2025, all households will have to use the internet to make and receive phone calls, under BT’s new home phone service Digital Voice.

A problem with digital landlines is that they will not work in a power cut because they rely on a broadband connection, unlike the old landlines that work even when the power is down.

Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on Digital Exclusion, Tim said: “My final word is about Digital Voice, which others have mentioned.

“During Storm Arwen, we saw places and communities such as Coniston, Torver, Flookburgh, Allithwaite, Backbarrow and Haverthwaite completely disconnected from every kind of communication simply because if the copper wire has been lost, when the electricity goes down, so does the phone.

“It seems wrong that Digital Voice has been rolled out without thinking about the isolation and lack of communication available as a fallback for communities such as ours in the Lakes.”

Responding, the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy, Saqib Bhatti said: “The decision to switch off the analogue landline network was made by the telecoms industry, and a transition to Digital Voice networks is an industry-led process, which is expected to conclude in 2025.

“However, the Government were made aware of some serious shortcomings in how the telecoms industry managed the PSTN migration. As a result, the Technology Secretary convened a meeting in December 2023 with the UK’s leading telecoms providers to discuss ways to improve the protection of vulnerable households through the migration.

“In response, the major telecoms providers have now signed a charter committing to concrete measures to protect vulnerable households, particularly those using telecare alarms. That is a positive step, which we hope will ensure that safety continues to be at the heart of the nationwide switchover.”