Campaigners have called on Andy Burnham to intervene in the planned switch-off of the UK's traditional landline network, which is due to take place in January. The move from the analogue copper-wire system to a digital network has prompted concerns about its impact on older and vulnerable people.
A petition against the change, signed by 118,000 people, has not received a response from the Government, according to campaigners. Operators argue the current network is increasingly unreliable and difficult to maintain, but critics point out that analogue phone lines continue to work during power cuts.
Concerns for vulnerable customers
Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, criticised the lack of response to the petition and a letter calling for the deadline to be extended. He said: "It is grossly insulting that our petition and letter calling for the deadline to be extended has not even been answered, showing contempt for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable customers who depend on their landlines for alarm systems and to make emergency calls."
Reed added: "The Government has its head in the sand over this whole transition process, trusting the telecoms industry to get the job done with as few personal tragedies as possible. What a way to run a whelk stall."
Call for extension until 2030
He urged Burnham to act, saying: "It is not too late for Andy Burnham to intervene and extend the switchover timetable until 2030 so that the health and safety needs of vulnerable pensioners, disabled customers, and those in remote communities can be properly addressed."
The Government's Be Ready campaign, which encourages the public to stockpile supplies in case of a crisis, also advises those who have not yet migrated to a digital network to contact their landline provider. It states that vulnerable customers, such as telecare users, must be provided with a free back-up battery unit by their communication provider.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ofcom have been contacted for comment.
