Shropshire MP calls on government to protect vulnerable people as phone network switched to digital system
A Shropshire MP says vulnerable people must be 'protected' as the UK's phone network is being switched to a digital system.
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Traditional landline telephone networks are gradually being retired before the copper wire system will be switched off in January 2027.
Service providers have began migrating its landlines to a digital system which uses broadband internet to transmit voice calls.
The change over has been left to communication providers to manage and deliver, and the government said this switchover would be "straightforward" for most consumers and businesses.
However, a parliamentary group, chaired by North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan, has today (March 24) published a new report criticising the government for its handling of the digital phone switchover.
The Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group's (APPG) report comes after adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Darragh affected power connections across the country, including in Shropshire.
Mrs Morgan said this left residents in places with poorer mobile phone signal with no way of communication as digital phonelines do not work when power is lost.
Migrations from analogue to digital landlines were paused in December 2023 after reports of "serious incidents" involving telecare devices.
And, the APPG report has criticised co-ordination between providers and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Helen Morgan, Chair of the APPG and Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire has urged the government to have more involvement.
She said: "The digital switchover should be known and understood by every resident - both here in Shropshire and across the country - to ensure the most vulnerable in our communities are protected.
"A digital transformation project of this kind cannot be allowed to be led by industry operatives alone.
"Successive governments have not provided leadership or co-ordination to this programme, and it is now time for this new government to correct course. The risk to life if residents are not safely migrated is very real, as we saw when Storm Darragh hit here in Shropshire."
