Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what analysis her Department has conducted on the potential benefits and impacts of redirecting a portion of Annual Licence Fee revenues towards resilience-enhancing measures.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure is of central importance to the essential services the public rely on. We welcome Ofcom’s review of the power resilience of mobile networks, recognising the complexity of the challenge but also the importance consumers place on being able to have uninterrupted access to mobile services.
We are currently undertaking a Mobile Market Review to consider what action the Government can take to support the sector’s ability to invest in comprehensive high-quality, secure and reliable connectivity over the long-term.
As part of this, my officials are in regular discussion with HM Treasury. We are currently reviewing the responses to the call for evidence and aim to set out key findings and next steps later this year.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with HM Treasury on alternative uses of spectrum-related revenues to support national connectivity and resilience objectives.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The resilience of the UK’s critical national infrastructure is of central importance to the essential services the public rely on. We welcome Ofcom’s review of the power resilience of mobile networks, recognising the complexity of the challenge but also the importance consumers place on being able to have uninterrupted access to mobile services.
We are currently undertaking a Mobile Market Review to consider what action the Government can take to support the sector’s ability to invest in comprehensive high-quality, secure and reliable connectivity over the long-term.
As part of this, my officials are in regular discussion with HM Treasury. We are currently reviewing the responses to the call for evidence and aim to set out key findings and next steps later this year.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Technology what discussions she has had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and DNOs on ensuring rapid restoration of power to telecommunications sites during major incidents.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
My department works very closely with DESNZ on shared resilience issues. The Government aims to promote collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors, so that when power cuts occur the risk of disruption to services is reduced and any unavoidable disruption affects as few people as possible, for the shortest possible time.
While most power outages are short-lived, severe events such as major storms can cause prolonged disruption. DSIT works with DESNZ, Ofgem, Ofcom, telecoms operators and electricity network operators, including DNOs, to reduce the impact of power disruption on telecoms infrastructure during major incidents. This includes recent steps to improve how operators share information, identify affected telecoms sites, support restoration planning, maintain clear escalation routes, and coordinate incident responses through the Electronic Communications Resilience and Response Group and the Energy Networks Association.
Alongside this, DESNZ’s forthcoming Energy Resilience Strategy will set out next steps for maintaining energy resilience and embedding resilience into the future energy system.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of mobile phone mast sites servicing rural areas have alternative power generation or a battery back-up that can be accessed during an unplanned power outage.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Government does not hold this level of detailed information. Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Residents in all areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities. That is why, with support from the Government Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers. Government looks forward to Ofcom concluding this work as soon as possible.
Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time. This will include all areas of the country and will help strengthen resilience of mobile networks.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the answer of 28 April 2026 to question 128431, whether her Department verifies claims by major communication providers that no existing PSTN customers will be left without landline alternatives.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
As per the response to Question 128431 on 28 April, I can reiterate that major communications providers have assured the Government that no existing PSTN customer will be left without a landline or an option to move to a communication provider that can provide a landline. This include transitional products, such as Pre-Digital Phone Lines (PDPL), for customers who cannot yet be upgraded to VoIP.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the answer of 28 April 2026 to question 128431, what her Department considers to be an adequate landline alternative.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
As per the response to Question 128431 on 28 April, I can reiterate that major communications providers have assured the Government that no existing PSTN customer will be left without a landline or an option to move to a communication provider that can provide a landline. This include transitional products, such as Pre-Digital Phone Lines (PDPL), for customers who cannot yet be upgraded to VoIP.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2026 to question 125033, what is her Department's estimate of the number of premises in (a) Ceredigion Preseli constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK that will still be without access to adequate mobile coverage from any mobile network operator when the UK's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) are switched off.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The estimated number of premises currently without access to good mobile coverage for each of these areas based on the latest Ofcom data was provided in our answer to question 125033.
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK, including in Ceredigion Preseli. The Government has had confirmation from major communication providers that no existing PSTN customers will be left without a landline alternative.
All network operator’s have committed significant investment in line with Government's ambition for standalone 5G to be available in all populated areas by 2030. In addition, the Shared Rural Network, jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s mobile network operators (MNOs), is utilising Government funding to incentivise mobile network operators to deliver commercial outdoor mobile coverage in rural areas, where there was previously limited or no 4G coverage at all. The programme has been successful in helping to achieve 96% 4G coverage from at least one operator across the UK landmass.
Government does not hold data on MNO’s future deployment plans. Along with the emergence of Direct to Device connectivity, this means that we cannot provide a reliable estimate of how many premises would be left without adequate mobile coverage from any operator at the point in time when the PSTN and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) are switched off. No existing PSTN customers will be left without a landline alternative.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the number of households in (a) Ceredigion Preseli constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK without access to a broadband connection speed greater than 10 Mbps.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Customers can access home broadband via fixed-wired (copper/fibre) and fixed-wireless access connections. For the 10Mbps download speed criterion alone, Ofcom only publish data for fixed-wired network types. However, data gathered by Ofcom for the Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) measuring both 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload from both fixed-wired and fixed-wireless networks indicates that, as of July 2025 this threshold is not met for;
769 residential premises in Ceredigion Preseli
5,035 residential premises in Wales
34,760 residential premises in UK
The Broadband USO provides consumers with a right to request a decent broadband service of at least 10 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed (as well as several other specific technical characteristics).
According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2025 report, as of July 2025, 769 residential premises in the Ceredigion Preseli constituency, 5,035 residential premises in Wales and 34,760 residential premises in the UK are potentially eligible for the Broadband USO.
The Government is committed to ensuring at least 99% of premises receive gigabit-capable broadband coverage by 2032. Premises may be able to receive improved connectivity via government interventions such as Project Gigabit, local government schemes such as Access Broadband Cymru Grant scheme or via the Broadband USO.
Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering gigabit-capable broadband to parts of the UK that are unlikely to be reached by the commercial market alone. Around 60,000 premises across Wales, including approximately 5,790 premises in Ceredigion Preseli constituency, are expected to benefit from gigabit coverage through Project Gigabit’s cross-regional framework with Openreach. Across the UK, more than one million premises are included within £2.4 billion worth of signed Project Gigabit contracts.
In the meantime, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband services are available to most remaining premises in Wales.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate Department estimate of the total number of households in (a) Ceredigion Preseli constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK without access to good mobile signal strength as defined by Ofcom.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Ofcom publishes mobile coverage data in its Connected Nations reports at the premises level, but this does not distinguish between premises type. This means there is no differentiation between households and places of work for example.
Following the launch of the Map Your Mobile tool in June 2025, Ofcom’s threshold for good mobile coverage, combining 4G and 5G, is a predicted received signal strength of −95dBm. Predicted coverage at this threshold is also now included in Ofcom’s Connected Nations report.
Our estimated number of premises without access to good mobile coverage for each area is provided in the table below. Data for total number of premises and the percentage of premises with good mobile coverage is presented as in Ofcom’s Connected Nations Report 2025.
Area | Total number of premises | Percentage of premises with access to good mobile coverage from any mobile network operator | Estimated number of premises without access to good mobile coverage from any mobile network operator |
Ceredigion Preseli | 51,741 | 95.31% | 2,427 |
Wales | 1,569,275 | 99.08% | 14,437 |
UK | 32,355,397 | 99.64% | 116,479 |
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on the potential impact of software licensing practices on (a) Small to Medium Enterprises in Wales and (b) the Welsh economy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government engages regularly with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on the effective operation of the UK’s competition framework, including how it supports competitive digital markets across all parts of the UK, including Wales.
While the CMA operates independently of Government in its investigations and decision making, the Government gave a clear steer for the CMA to use its new powers in digital markets collaboratively and proportionately.
In March, the CMA announced a package of actions to strengthen competition in business software and cloud services. This includes a Strategic Market Status investigation into Microsoft’s business software under the UK’s digital markets regime, alongside voluntary actions from Amazon and Microsoft in cloud services. These actions taken together will support SMEs and businesses in Wales and the rest of the UK by lowering barriers to competition, increasing choice and helping firms access digital tools on fairer terms.