CEREDIGION MP Ben Lake has welcomed BT’s decision to pause all further Digital Voice switch-overs for customers who do not presently wish to move to the new technology.

The communication giants had initially taken the decision to retire their traditional copper telephone network by December 2025.

This meant that all telephone calls would be delivered over digital technology called Voice over Internet Protocol, using a broadband connection.

But Mr Lake had voiced concerns that many people living in rural Ceredigion with no mobile coverage faced the prospect of having no means of communicating with the outside world were they to lose their broadband connection.

He added that the ‘huge disruption’ caused by recent Storms Arwen and Eunice brought these concerns into sharper focus.

“I know that many of my constituents were deeply worried about the prospect of losing their copper landlines and I am very grateful to BT for listening to their customers’ concerns and taking such prompt action,” said Mr Lake.

“We need to vastly improve our connectivity infrastructure in Ceredigion and ensure that rural premises in particular have more resilient back-up options in place if this programme is to be restarted in the future.”