Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what her planned timetable is for the Project Gigabit procurements for hard to reach communities in Wales.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In July 2023, we launched a Project Gigabit cross regional procurement to bring gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in hard to reach parts of North West Wales, Mid Wales, and South East Wales. Our intention is to award a contract to the successful supplier in the summer.
North Wales and South West Wales will be included in a further procurement once the cross regional contract is in place.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what guidance her Department issues on whether Building Digital UK vouchers are transferable assets if a broadband company falls into administration.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Building Digital UK (BDUK) monitors the general health of the voucher suppliers it works with on the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. Any vouchers issued under the scheme are owned by the beneficiary, rather than the supplier assigned to the project, however only the supplier assigned to the project by BDUK can claim the funding.
If a voucher supplier goes into administration, BDUK will review options for ensuring premises included in any of their voucher projects can be covered through one of our programmes. If the supplier is acquired by another company, the new owner may retain the vouchers projects through formal, mutual agreement. Alternatively, the premises covered by the vouchers could be incorporated into a Project Gigabit procurement or existing contract.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with BT to ensure that consumers who do not have mobile signal in their homes will be able to contact emergency services during a power cut following the digital voice roll-out.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Communication Providers are required by the Communications Act (2003) to ensure the continuity of access to the Public Emergency Call Service, via the telephone numbers 999 and 112. These obligations are set out in the General Conditions of Entitlement and are regulated by Ofcom.
In 2018, Ofcom published guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil this General Condition in light of the industry’s decision to retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and replace it with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The guidance states that in the event of a power outage at least one solution must be available for consumers, providing access for a minimum of one hour. The solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline, such as those with no mobile phone signal. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.
The Government and Ofcom regularly engage with the telecoms industry to monitor their migration process and ensure providers are taking appropriate steps to protect vulnerable consumers. In January, Minister Julia Lopez held a roundtable with the major Communications Providers to discuss how the telecommunications industry will support consumers as they transition to VoIP services.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with telephone providers on the transition from analogue to digital landlines.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Communication Providers are required by the Communications Act (2003) to ensure the continuity of access to the Public Emergency Call Service, via the telephone numbers 999 and 112. These obligations are set out in the General Conditions of Entitlement and are regulated by Ofcom.
In 2018, Ofcom published guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil this General Condition in light of the industry’s decision to retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and replace it with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. The guidance states that in the event of a power outage at least one solution must be available for consumers, providing access for a minimum of one hour. The solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk as they are dependent on their landline, such as those with no mobile phone signal. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.
The Government and Ofcom regularly engage with the telecoms industry to monitor their migration process and ensure providers are taking appropriate steps to protect vulnerable consumers. In January, Minister Julia Lopez held a roundtable with the major Communications Providers to discuss how the telecommunications industry will support consumers as they transition to VoIP services.