I don’t have a landline - what would I do in an emergency?

[Ozgirl75]

I live in the countryside, not very rural but no phone signal at all, literally zero bars. I have wifi calling and also a phone line via my broadband.
This is all fine, it works and is no problem.
But the other day we had a short powercut and I had obviously no internet and no phone and it made me think, if there was ever a fire or something like a real emergency with no power, how would I call for help?
Im young and healthy (and drive) but when all landlines are gone, how will people deal with these scenarios?

Not for much longer. This used to be the case, and BT had an obligation to power the standard telephone line, but they have been released from that obligation now that they are no longer the dominant provider.

As they switch to digital, lines will not be powered on the same way.

@Ozgirl75 have you tried other mobile networks? Is rare to have no coverage from any network.

This is the downside of competition they all want an open market and cheap cheap cheap
years ago by had to under there service level agreement
they had to provide service to everyone irrespective of cost and basically big cities subsidised rural areas that cost a fortune and never get financial return from

competition can swoop in take all the rich pickings in cities and leave the rural shit to bt
that cost a fortune

i think instead of complaining about them not subsidising and providing landlines people need to campaign for mobile coverage

like anything else you can get service but people don’t want to pay for it get a satellite phone

@NotSuchASmugMarried
"You can use landlines in a powercut. They run on telecommunications, not electricity."
Not if your Landline is connected via your broadband. In which case when there is a power cut, and the broadband fails, so will your phone.
The other option is a starlink phone

Have you checked every network

It would be very unusual in the Uk to have no network with any provider

We’re the same OP. Mobile phone over wifi. I thought 999 would still work in out of signal areas (often says “emergency calls only” on my phone). I thought about getting a landline but didn’t bother when I realised it would be going digital, the battery pack is interesting though.

I think you can often call 999 if you have no signal because it'll use any signal, doesn't have to be your network.

You should still be able to make emergency calls even if you have no signal with your mobile provider; your phone will link to a provider that does have signal where you are for emergency calls.

It’s strange that people think it’s unusual to not have coverage. I can assure you there are places where there’s no coverage. To be fair it’s patchier than it used to be. I can occasionally get Vodafone signal on one side of the house and EE on the other (one bar, intermittent). But I can’t get either inside. If my wifi wasn’t on I’d have to go to the nearest town to get reliable signal. I could maybe send a text in my village depending on where I was but a phone call wouldn’t be possible. But it’s better than where I used to live.

I would be nervous in a rural area with low WiFi signal and no landline. The battery back up option is being offered to the vulnerable but I am not sure how easy it will be to persuade BT to install this if you are not elderly or have a disability. I would definitely push them as hard as you could though.
If not, I would invest in a garmin gps device? They are quite expensive but might be worth it for peace of mind?

I imagine the OP has looked into all the local mobile providers already?!

Will this landline change mean new problems for the elderly? Will they still be able to use their current phones? The modern world with everything online, apps etc cause huge problems for my parents in their eighties. And they live near us in London with great phone reception, some functioning banks and post offices etc. It is so much harder for other old folk.

It's not unusual at all. I wish companies who insist on sending me a text message to verify my account would realise that.

We keep a spare phone plugged in for this reason. Living rural means that emergency services have to travel further to get to you. If you call an ambulance they will tell you to make your own way to hospital, this for some can be an hour+ away. Those without transport would die waiting.

We've been delayed to switch to voice over internet until next year because they still haven't sorted the fact half the town doesn't have a reliable mobile signal (my house is fine, new build flat section of town, other half can't get 3g, meanwhile in their wisdom, next village along already has 5g!)

Quick google you can just buy a backup battery problem solved

@Nopenopenopenopenopenope

There's no signal at all in quite large areas of my county, try driving down the m5, you loose signal completely on all networks, it's not even hilly!

Battery backup is the way forward. Unfortunately Surrey has a lot of blackspots for mobile phone reception (I live in one too).
If anyone is thinking of moving to Surrey in the past month we've had 3 power cuts (one of 6 h), one missed bin collection, a major road closed for 3 days due to a tree, and I haven't had a post delivery since Sept. And this weekend due to the A3 closure I won't be able to move without being in a traffic jam!!!

You need a UPS. They start at about £80 upwards depending on your requirements

Yes and all this for a lovely £310 council tax per month!

We had a farcical situation when we moved in and were trying to set up wifi calling as they insisted they had to send us a text to verify and seemed not to believe that we didn’t have any coverage - hence needing the wifi calling option!

It's actually shocking that anywhere in such a developed country as ours let alone in the capital city that is is a thing. I have the same issue in Edinburgh. I live walking distance to the city centre and do not have a phone signal in my house or large parts of the local area. Not that this would make a difference In a power cut but I've lived in and visited other countries which are far less wealthy and developed than the Uk and you get a phone signal literally everywhere. Not like it's a vast country to cover either

They used to. I remember in the 90's having a power cut and being cut off for a week as the result of heavy snow. I was able to charge my trusty old Nokia in my car when it eventually ran low and was able to use it for about 5 days before the mast back up battery died. Looking back it's amazing I even had a signal there in rural Scotland. I wonder if there is one now - we appear to be going backwards 🙃

This is a big concern in rural areas once BT switch off the analogue phone system and go completely digital. We currently have a corded phone plugged in to the landline in one room. It was a godsend when we had no electricity for 4 days a couple of years ago after a storm. I doubt that even a backup battery for the hub would last that long.
We once had a widespread power outage when the local mast went out of action too. Can't begin to imagine how that will play out once analogue phones go.

I am wondering if you live in the same bit of SW London as me! We have a landline too for this reason. Rarely used though.

When parcels etc are delivered that need info input into the delivery person's phone etc it can take ages 😬

We are exactly the same and would have to run up the hill opposite to get one bar of 3G. We can’t have a smart meter for this reason and I’d actually like one. Alongside broadband I believe the Gov should mandate 4G coverage for 100% of the UK, including in AONBs (which is our issue).

If there's any signal for any network you can still ring 999 or 112. You need a signal but doesn't have to be your network.
I'd suggest getting a spare power bank for your phone and keeping it charged. Also remember you can charge a phone in a car. You might have to drive a short distance to get a single. Perhaps ask around and find out where other networks have signal close by.