An East Perthshire Conservative Councillor has raised concerns about a lack of a phone network for local residents in the event of storms, following Storm Eowyn hitting the UK recently.
Bob Brawn, who represents the Blairgowrie and the Glens ward, has called on mobile phone providers to ensure there are sufficient contingency plans after some residents in his constituency had no means of communication for a period on January 24, following a power outage in parts of Blairgowrie and the Glens.
The issue was highlighted back in 2022, when Storm Arwen and Storm Eunice brought down trees and damaged fibre cable in the Kirkmichael area, leading to a loss of broadband and mobile phone coverage. This resulted in communities living in the Kirkmichael area being without power for days and being without any means of communication.
Ofcom subsequently wrote to BT after this chaotic scene and asked the company to find new back-up options for phones that depend on an internet connection rather than old copper wires as ‘a matter of urgency.’ As a result, BT has subsequently stopped the roll-out of its digital-only phones.
Commenting, Councillor Brawn said: “As was expected, Storm Eowyn caused power outages all over Scotland including Blairgowrie and the Glens. In the Glens, that loss of power meant most households with modern cordless telephones were unable to make calls.
“The similar loss of mobile phone left many residents unable to communicate with anyone even if an emergency had arisen and could not get any updates about power repairs.
“Although of some of us had the old analogue telephones which could be plugged into the telephone socket which has its own power supply, this too will become obsolete when the new Voice Over Internet Protocol is adopted.”
Councillor Brawn continued: “Given the vulnerability of electricity supply by overhead cables, the importance of maintaining communication - mobile or landline - must be robust before any changes take place.”
