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Parliamentary Estate: Telephone Systems

Question for The Senior Deputy Speaker

UIN HL3848, tabled on 16 April 2024

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker on which dates and at what times the failure of the Polycom telephone system on the parliamentary estate started and ended, and why it took so long for the system to be restored.

Answered on

30 April 2024

The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. The Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) were made aware of a potential issue affecting Polycom telephone handsets, used with the Microsoft telephone service (MS Teams) on Friday 12th April 2024. Following a thorough investigation, a root cause was identified and resolved on Tuesday 16th April 2024. Restoration of service following a major telephony incident depends on third parties. The Voice Programme is upgrading and replacing the existing telephony infrastructure with a streamlined and less complex support arrangement. PDS are expecting to rollout the service over the summer 2024.