Disconnection of the Copper Network – Hinton Blewett Parish Council

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There is a plan across the UK to replace the copper telephone network with internet based solutions for home telephones. The Parish Council recently wrote to the local MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg regarding concerns over the planned disconnection of the copper telephone network accross the UK and the effect this will have on rural communities such as Hinton Blewett.

Below is a copy of the letter sent, along with the replies received. The first reply received confirmed that representation would be made by the Rt Hon. Jacob Rees-Mogg to both the Department for Digital, Cluture, Media and Sport, Ofcom and British Telecom.

Previously the council had made representation to Ofcom, however the response from Ofcom did not provide answers to the specific concerns raised. A complaint was made concerning this lack of details, but no further response has been received.

A response from BT has been received by Jacob Rees-Mogg from BT following representation and is included in the attached letter below.

It is hoped that by raising these concerns, BT and other network providers will put in place reliable solutions for rural communication, especially for emergency situations during a power cut, before the planned UK disconnection of the copper network.

Letter to Jacob Rees-Mogg

The Rt. Hon. Jacob Rees-Mogg,

House of Commons,

London,

SW1A 0AA.

25th March 2022

Dear Mr Rees-Mogg,

I am writing on behalf of Hinton Blewett Parish Council and the local residents of Hinton Blewett. As our local MP, you will know that Hinton Blewett is a small village in a rural location. The future planned disconnection of the copper network is a concern to local residents as there will be no means of communication for many residents, especially during a power outage.

The copper network is planned to be disconnected by BT Openreach and all customers will be moved to new internet based systems by the end of 2025. This means that in the event of a power cut, phones will not work as a power source is be required to make internet based phone calls.

Hinton Blewett experiences multiple power cuts each year and has poor mobile phone coverage. This means that during a power cut, there is no reliable means of accessing emergency services, or even informing the power company that there is a power cut.

The village has poor mobile phone coverage both outside and inside buildings. The Ofcom mobile checker used to check the mobile availability, confirms the experience of residents, that for all mobile network providers the village, there is poor coverage and there are likely to be problems for both voice and data connections.

When poor mobile phone coverage was raised with Ofcom in previous years, the response given was that there was the alternative of internet based wifi calling. This will not work during a power cut.

Ofcom was contacted in February 2022 by the Parish Council to raise these concerns and ask for a response regarding the disconnection of the copper network. The specific concerns were not answered by Ofcom, instead a non specific nebulous response was given, pointing the parish council to Ofcom’s website.

The planned disconnection of the copper network is a significant concern for the community and many other rural communities, both in terms of safety during an emergency and in terms of wellbeing of vulnerable residents. The alternative of phone communication via a fibre network is not a workable or reasonable solution for two reasons:

The first issue is that communication on the fibre network requires a reliable electricity supply. The electricity supply in the village has been shown to be unreliable with repeated power cuts – we have had 13 power cuts in the last 11 months (source Western Power). Contacting both the power companies and emergency services during a power cut will not be possible for many residents if the copper network is disconnected. Most households will have no means of communication or contacting emergency services during a power outage.

This concerning issue has been evidenced recently – you may have read in the press, for example thisismoney.co.uk, the story of a elderly homeowner who’s house caught fire around half a mile from a remote Scottish village last November, he was relying on his landline to call 999, but having been transferred to a new digital phone line was unable to call emergency services during a power cut. He lost his home, which was burnt down with no way of calling for help.

The second issue is the unaffordable increase of costs to the customer. Not all vulnerable residents, some of whom you know, have internet or a modem. At the moment copper network based landline services are available from £5.23 a month (plusnet price Feb 2022) where as fibre broadband in the village starts at £29.99 to £55 per month. This will be a 500% to 1000% cost increase forced on the customer due to the disconnection of the copper network. This significant cost increase during a period of rising costs of living, including food and heating, make it an unaffordable solution for vulnerable low income residents. This is likely to result in isolation, loneliness, loss of access to basic support services and loss of basic wellbeing for vulnerable residents.

Please may I ask for your feedback on the following:

• Please can you advise if there is anything you can do to ensure suppliers and Ofcom actually deliver improvements the mobile network in rural areas link Hinton Blewett.

• Please can you advise if you are able to pressure suppliers to address the problem of vulnerable residents not being able to communicate when the copper network is disconnected due to the costs of fibre networks.

• Please can you advise if you are able to pressure suppliers to address the problem of residents not being able to communicate with critical services with a fibre network during a power outage or internet outage.

• Please can you advise if it is possible to ensure that suppliers do not disconnect the copper network in rural areas like Hinton Blewett until these issues have been solved.

Yours sincerely,

Philip Edwards

Clerk to Hinton Blewett Parish Council