Concerns over digital phone lines Ruralcommunityimpactfears
Concerns have been raised over the impact of digital phone networks in rural communities after a watchdog said it feared people could be cut off during outages and severe weather.
Murdo Fraser MSP supported issues raised by Consumer Scotland regarding emergency communication throughout the region.
The consumer watchdog said the shift to digital may lead to service disruptions during power outages, particularly in remote areas prone to severe weather.
The watchdog pointed out that new digital landlines require battery backup to function during power cuts, thus posing challenges.
Mr Fraser previously raised this issue two years ago following residents in the Glenshee and Strathardle areas of Perthshire having to live without power for days and being without means to phone family and friends.
The area suffered a massive power outage due to the impact of Storm Arwen in November 2021.
As a result, Ofcom subsequently wrote to BT after the phoneline chaos and asked the company to find new backup options for phones that depend on an internet connection rather than old copper wires as ‘a matter of urgency.’ BT then temporarily stopped the rollout of its digital-only phones.
The Scottish Conservative politician said: “I fully support the concerns raised by Consumer Scotland with regard to the plan to roll-out a digital phone network after being contacted by irate and anxious Perthshire residents following Storm Arwen back in 2021. These residents were left without power for days and left without means to communicate the outside world due to the impact of the storm. This was a horrendous situation for all concerned and I would hope we never see a repeat of this again.
Mr Fraser continued: “It is good to see Consumer Scotland pointing out that new digital landlines require battery backup to function during power cuts, which will pose challenges for emergency communications. By the end of 2025, most households will switch to Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology, which relies on broadband internet but there are many areas in rural Perthshire that have poor or unreliable broadband at the moment.
“Consumer Scotland has also highlighted that consumers in rural areas rely more on landlines due to poorer mobile coverage and experience more frequent and longerlasting power cuts and are recommending launching a national campaign to inform and prepare consumers. I fully support this and will be backing their call.”
The new research carried out by the Communications Consumer Panel (CCP) has found a higher proportion of consumers in rural Scotland are likely to be vulnerable to the effects of the switchover to digital than in other parts of Scotland or the UK as a whole.
Consumers in rural areas are more likely to rely on their landline for calls with 78 per cent of households in remote rural Scotland using a landline for making calls.
This compares to 62 per cent in Scotland as a whole and 59 per cent in the UK.
Consumer Scotland policy officer Kathryn Gill said: “The combination of a higher likelihood of power cuts and greater reliance on landlines in rural Scotland - for both calls and attached devices suggests that proportionally more consumers in these areas could be vulnerable due to the switchover with a risk that they do not have adequate back-up provision.
“The higher percentage of respondents in accessible rural and remote rural Scotland who want to use their landline in an emergency further highlights the potential vulnerability of consumers living in these areas when considering how they might make emergency phone calls during a power cut.
“The migration must be handled carefully to protect the safety of consumers in the event of power cuts and we want to see awareness campaigns targeted towards those at most risk of harm due to this change. “
A BT spokesman said: “We are working to minimise any delays, as the switch to digital landlines is a necessity given the increasing fragility of the analogue network.”