Written Question·Department for Science, Innovation and Technology·UIN 119373

Telecommunications Cables

Tabled: 10 March 2026
Answered: 18 March 2026

Question

Clive Lewis

LabourNorwich South

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of alternate infrastructure to replace copper wire ADSL systems.

Answer

Kanishka Narayan
ADSL relies on the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The PSTN is increasingly unreliable and prone to failure. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. This is why industry ha...

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