UK landline switchover might put ‘millions at risk’ – 1000’s signal petition

A petition asking the Government to assessment UK telephone corporations’ resolution to change all current landlines to new digital expertise has gained greater than 10,000 signatures.

Set up by the Digital Poverty Alliance and Silver Voices, advocacy teams that symbolize the digitally excluded and senior residents respectively, the petition can be thought of for debate in Parliament ought to it gather 100,000 signatures.

Under plans headed up by the UK’s telecom suppliers, the outdated copper wire community that has delivered landline connections to hundreds of thousands of houses for many years can be changed by digital expertise by the tip of 2025. The rollout from providers such as BT has already began.

Critics declare the plans haven’t been effectively communicated and can go away these missing digital expertise and expertise susceptible. The arguement is that some current telecare and alarm programs depend on outdated landline connections to perform, serving to susceptible prospects to alert household, pals and emergency companies within the occasion of an emergency.

Old landlines run on a copper community that works even throughout an influence minimize, an occasion throughout which these with out web or trendy units, or in distant areas, would possibly require help by way of their telecare system, it’s argued. But new digital landline expertise doesn’t work throughout an influence minimize because it depends on a broadband connection, resulting in considerations the switchover is occurring too shortly.

“In power cuts, landlines simply won’t work. Whether the back-up offered is a mobile phone or a battery back-up, these must be kept constantly charged,” stated Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance.

“The key issues are firstly that a number of people we speak to either don’t know how to use a mobile and don’t want to switch to one – so therefore forget to charge a mobile phone they don’t actually use – or secondly are concerned about leaving batteries charging constantly due to cost-of-living and fire safety. These issues require behavioural change to solve as well as reassurance, neither of which is being addressed.”

The UK Government has already responded to the petition, saying the change to digital landlines “is industry-led but Government and Ofcom are monitoring communication providers to ensure that consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the upgrade process.”

It stated the improve to digital from the outdated public switched phone community (PTSN) community is important as a result of the ageing expertise is “increasingly unreliable and failure prone”.

“We appreciate customers’ concerns about resilience needs in a power cut,” the response from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology stated. It pointed to Ofcom-issued steering that states all telecom suppliers must present at the very least a method for affected prospects to entry emergency companies within the occasion of an influence minimize.

But the Digital Poverty Alliance’s Anderson stated the present plans aren’t sufficient.

“The government response on the digital switchover petition is putting millions of vulnerable people at risk as there are still so many unanswered questions.

“The only nod to digital poverty in response to the petition is a reference to public libraries. Whilst libraries, particularly central libraries, do provide great support, data shows only a third of the adult population use them. In rural communities, libraries are often open for limited hours and solely run by volunteers, and this often does not help people to access services when, where and how they need.

“Relying solely on librarians is a lazy anecdote that doesn’t reflect the true impact of enforcing the digital switchover without proper support measures and guidance, or the complexity of digital poverty.

“Ultimately, the response has left vulnerable people in a worse position than when they started, still without guidance and still without concrete support to help them navigate a digital switchover that could potentially have serious consequences on people’s daily lives. Government need to step in further and take firm action.”

You can view the petition here.