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?

Fiber to the premises is cheaper to build and maintain than it is to update and maintain the analogue network. That's really all it is.

It was also a farce during the days and days without electricity that when I phoned (landline) to get updates and where the hot food stations were, they said to check www whatever … not funny when you’re in a house colder than a fridge either. I don’t think the country is ready to ditch the means to use landlines.

The thing about phoning 999 … it would never have occurred to me to do that, unless genuine emergency where you’d call 999 anyway. As if they aren’t stretched enough without non emergency calls by the dozen! If something is ditched, there needs to be consideration of what will be lost, and consult accordingly.

@Ozgirl75 are any of your neighbours ham radio operators? That's the only way if absolutely all digital went down

Landlines are dying out fast. Not sure what you could do, aside from making a mental note of the nearest spot with reception, So you could drive and make a call.

Rural but lucky that the phone mast is literally in the field behind my house, so we have great signal (with that one provider). Only 4g though for now.

However that mast got damaged by storms at one point so the whole area had no mobile signal for ages. Right pain. And we’ve switched, not really through choice, from an analogue landline now to voip. So if there’s power cuts and the mast goes out too then we’re screwed.

(thankfully we have a generator, wood burners etc, but will definitely look into battery backup for the phone/internet system)

I have a power bank - it has 2 3 pin plug sockets and a couple of USB slots.

I also have small wind up FM radio with a torch and USB slots and it can also charge on solar.

Some information

Slightly off topic but I agree with a PP that the digital network in this (supposedly 1st world) country is rubbish.

I travel quite a lot and usually the area I'm in has 5G and rarely less than 4G. In the UK you're lucky to get 3G quite often. It's ridiculous.

Surely you just keep it charged, and keep a couple of charged battery packs? We do this as a matter of course. I always have a tiny battery pack in my bag when out, in case I'm held up, so I can always fully charge up my phone. It's about the size of a lipstick

So it’s not the phone running down that’s the issue - it’s the fact that in a power cut we have no wifi or phone signal.

I’m not sure actually! I should ask next time I see them.
To be fair, for me this isn’t a huge drama - I have a car and am able bodied but I was thinking about the people who maybe are elderly etc.
Also, when the kids were small and we didn’t live here, I trained them in what to do if there was ever an emergency but our power goes out at the slightest thing (it’s mildly windy today and it’s already flickering on and off) I don’t know what they would have done.
Anyway, I’ve got great ideas now, I’ll get a backup battery for the wifi and that’s really all I would need in an emergency.
It does raise more issues about rural/semi rural Britain though - whenever I read about government ideas I just think, have you ever visited the countryside? Houses often aren’t suitable for heat pumps, we lose power often, have crappy mobile phone signal, rely on oil burners or wood burners etc.

My area hasn’t been switched. Something I heard about on Radio4 you and yours. Some dreadful stories about switch over. Another thing works through the phone are the pendant alarms. Here is something from Which

What about other devices that use phone lines? Landlines aren't the only things that rely on the phone network. It also supports devices ranging from healthcare devices, burglar alarms, ATMs and card machines to traffic lights, motorway signs and railway signals. The copper phone network supports thousands of personal alarms and home monitoring systems that allow disabled people and those who are older or have health problems to access help if they need it. There are 1.7 million people using these telecare devices in the UK.

Definitely ask neighbours because a ham radio can be battery powered and never a worry about signal cutting out. I'm semi rural so not quite as isolated as you but I don't have a car and always wondered what I'd do in same boat

I guess by no landline you mean you are only on a fibre line?

You can get battery pack for your router that will keep it powered and support one phone plugged into it / contact your provider - i suspect they are obligated to provide you a resilient solution for free if there is no mobile - sone providers will

Our neighbour uses an emergency pendant and was advised to switch to a lifeline system with a battery backup or a fully digital one (naturally more expensive) that uses the mobile network if there's a power cut.

Great idea unless you live in an area with rubbish reception like we do ....

If you dial 999 your phone will use any available network, not just your own.

You may have no signal on say 02 but if there is a signal on any other network it will use that to put the call through.

999 should work even when there is limited or no signal.
Have you not noticed that when there is no reception your phone usually reads "emergency calls only". This is because for a 999 call, they will piggy back on any available network signal to get the call through.

@Aaron95 didn't see your post until it refreshed when I posted lol

I’m in the exact same situation. I had a landline fitted for that exact issue

If I turn off the wifi this is the only thing my phone has at the top. It’s good to know this would pick up a 999 call anyway though.

But could they not keep it running just in the areas where it is needed?

Interesting. I'm also just outside Gford. I get nothing in the house, I'm with O2, but if I walk down the road a bit I get 4g. I regularly can't call from here, so always use whatsapp for calls.

I thought that corded phones, sometimes given away for free, would still work if main network went down.

Personally I'd rely on my legs to go get help. Wellies in case of snow.

I had ancestors home-steading on the North Dakota prairies in 1880s, so not really worried about English conditions now.

I've never had a landline, and never even crossed my mind to worry about that until I saw this. But i do live in a town.

I don't think you could summon help. Surely you would try ensure everyone is away from danger (out of the house if it's on fire for example) and send someone with a car to the nearest place with signal? It really does suck but yeah, that's one of the consequences of living in some areas of the countryside. It's partly why I would never ever feel comfortable living in the countryside or rurally. I can't imagine being so isolated that if you needed to call for help you couldn't, or someone could come and break in or attack you and you would be left to deal with it alone. Just so scary to me.