You may have heard that landlines are changing and that the UK’s telephone network is going digital. These changes will affect everyone who has a landline they’d like to keep using.
By January 2027, the old analogue network will be completely switched off, replaced by new digital landlines which work using broadband. In preparation for this change, BT and other home phone providers have been switching customers over to the new technology ahead of the deadline.
Staff from BT will be answering your questions about the digital switchover on Thursday 12th February. If you have any questions or concerns about the upcoming switchover please post them in this topic at any time before 12th February or up to 5pm during the day. We will then post the responses from BT below each question or concern.
With the Digital switchover, what happens if the Digital network fails when you are trying to either get help via 999 or the non-emernacy systems? How are you suppose to get help then.
My landline is with Virgin Media along with TV and Broadband - along with most of the Broadband suppliers Virgin supplied me with a separate emergency battery powered telephone (it actually has it’s own SIM card too) when they changed my landline to digital) so if my broadband goes down for any reason (fault at Virgin or power cut etc) I can use the emergency handset to get help/assistance.
This information from Age UK explains what happens and I found it very useful when mine was changed.
Touch wood I haven’t had any problems since changeover and that was about 2 years ago now.
The digital network is more secure, reliable and more future proof than the analogue PSTN network, which is outdated and failing more frequently. Our Hybrid backup that we provide to any landline customer that lives in an area with mobile coverage works in the event of a power OR broadband outage by using the mobile network. Calls to 999 use a shared mobile network whereby whichever carrier is the strongest carries the call, and will even prioritise emergency calls over other traffic. For those that are landline only, or don’t have access to a fibre broadband service, we use a digital dedicated landline service that still works in a power cut (if their services do today)
Yes thats correct - we (BT/EE) offer a Hybrid Backup phone (the same as Virgin) in those areas with good mobile coverage. For those without mobile coverage or a telecare device we’d provide a battery backup instead
Hello, Thanks very much for answering our questions on this! How long will they keep the old system running before completely moving to the new model? Will there be a reasonable transitional period?
The PSTN legacy service will be switched off in January 2027 - We’ve been migrating customers for several years now and are already have over 78% of landline users on the new Digital Platform.
The only service that will continue past this point is for customers that don’t have broadband. Our dedicated landline service (digital landline only) - this will run as long as the BT exchange building exists. There is a programme to close the exchanges but this doesn’t kick in till around 2030
As far as I’m aware, traditional telecare systems won’t work on digital lines unless they’re upgraded or fitted with a compatible unit. If we are using a telecare alarm system should our supplier already know there is a telecare/critical device connected to the line and be contacting us to help? Will the telecare device still work after the switch or do we need a digital-ready version or adaptor? How can we test it after the switch to confirm it still working?
To put their mind at rest its not true that all telecare systems aren’t compatible. There are a range of analogue telecare devices that ARE compatible with the Digital Voice service, and work plugged into the phone socket on the hub in the same way a phone does. However, what we do know is that not ALL telecare devices are compatible.
To help - we’ve been engaged with telecare alarm manufacturers since 2017, and they’ve been using test labs we set up to test both analogue and digital alarms over the last 6 years. In the background we’ve been working with all local authorities & providers of telecare to ensure that our data is as accurate as possible on exactly WHO has telecare.
With that information, when a telecare user is selected to move to Digital Voice, we have a special enhanced set up journey. The first thing the engineer does is test the alarm to make sure everything is working today. They’ll then set up their digital phone service, plug the analogue telecare device into the hub and then test the alarm again to make sure everything is working. If it works, great, if it doesn’t, then the engineer will revert the customers phone service BACK to an analogue service, and then we won’t upgrade them until we’ve had confirmation that the alarm has been replaced by one that is digitally compatible. Alongside the telecare device being set up, the engineer will also set up a battery backup for their phone service to ensure that even in a power cut their service works.
Its also important to note that whilst we’ve been upgrading customers phones to digital, telecare providers have also been upgrading telecare alarms to digital as well. Often these are based off a mobile data sim, so don’t rely on the home phone any more. Or they might also be broadband based as well. These newer alarms have several benefits the main being they’re always monitored, so if there are any issues or outages, the alarm provider will be made aware and can take proactive action.
Any customer with a digital based telecare alarm can have their phone service upgraded to digital with no impact to their alarm.
