A couple of years ago BT announced that they intend to stop maintaining the copper-based landlines by 2027, as the technology called the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is an aging network that is becoming harder and more expensive to maintain. It has been decided that calls from landlines will be carried over the broadband network instead.

Sadly since the privatisation of the telephone network in 1984, BT are able to make decisions like this as an industry rather than through Parliament.

However, pressure on them from MPs including myself has resulted in twice-delaying the switchover to protect vulnerable customers. You can read more about the switchover work in Parliament here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9471/.

Although many people have mobile phones, I have been worried that people in rural areas with poor broadband connections would be left without an internet landline in the event of a power cut. Not only this, but I have been worried about vulnerable people who use telecare services such as pendant alarms to help them stay safe at home.

Following more pressure on this and further enquiries, BT have recently updated me to confirm that:

• There will be a new dedicated landline services for telecare customers who can’t access broadband at home.
• BT will only switch vulnerable telecare users when it’s confirmed their devices continue to function after the switch.
• BT will also provide free, additional support for vulnerable customers and those who don’t have a mobile phone or live in areas with no coverage (and so cannot rely on their mobile in the event of a power cut). This includes free engineer in-home installations, a free ‘hybrid’ phone (which automatically switches over to the mobile network should the fixed connection go down) and/or a free battery back-up unit to keep equipment running during a power cut.

You can read their full update to me below:

Digital Voice

I’d like to update you on BT Group’s approach to moving all our customers from old, analogue landlines (connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network or PSTN) onto digital landlines, and what this means for your constituents.  This is an industry-wide programme involving the vast majority of communication providers. 

I know this is an issue on which you have written to us on behalf of your constituents, so I hope this email helps to address any questions or concerns you may still have.

Following our commitment to a new industry charter, agreed with the Government in December, the current pause on non-voluntary moves to digital landlines has impacted the timing of the overall programme.  However, the 40-year-old PSTN is increasingly fragile as it is at the end of its serviceable life – this means we still need to work at pace to ensure we can continue to provide reliable landline services into the future for everyone.  As a result, we are extending the deadline to close the PSTN, with all customers now expected to have moved off old analogue services by the end of January 2027.

Our overriding priority is customer safety and supporting those with additional needs, such as telecare users.  Whilst the switch has and will be straightforward for the vast majority of customers, we know that some are particularly concerned about the impact it will have. So we have also introduced a series of improvements to further protect and reassure customers:

• • For BT customers that don’t or can’t yet access broadband at home alongside their voice services, we are introducing a new dedicated landline service for them.  This won’t require any in-home changes at all and it will continue to provide a powered line.  This isn’t available for broadband customers, as the technology we’re deploying cannot support it on the same line.  It’s an interim solution until 2030 at the latest.  We will start making this available from October this year.

• • Unless they elect to move, we won’t switch vulnerable customers until spring 2025 at the earliest.  And we will only move telecare users when we can check that their device continues to function after the switch – we expect to be able to do this early next year. We’ve started to move non-vulnerable customers who don’t use their landline at all and we expect to start scaling up migrations later in the summer.  Where full fibre is available, we will move them to this future-proofed network and all customers will receive extensive information about the change well in advance of their switchover day.

• • We will continue to provide free, additional support for vulnerable customers and those who don’t have a mobile phone or live in areas with no coverage (and so cannot rely on their mobile in the event of a power cut).  This includes free engineer in-home installations, a free ‘hybrid’ phone (which automatically switches over to the mobile network should the fixed connection go down) and/or a free battery back-up unit to keep equipment running during a power cut.  We will soon be making available an even better battery back-up unit to give greater peace of mind to customers that they will be able to make emergency calls during a power outage.

• • We will intensify our customer awareness and information campaign. We’ll build on our regional engagement programme – where we run hundreds of face-to-face events, meet thousands of customers and run local media campaigns – committing to visit every part of the UK at least once more.  Our Digital Voice Advisory Group, composed of charities and customer representative organisations, will continue to act as a critical sounding board for our approach and we continue to build new charity partnerships across the country to help with awareness raising.  And we’ve co-founded a new Telecare Action Board, with the telecare sector, local authorities and Government, to ensure we’re protecting telecare users – and where we also want, with other providers and with Government support, to launch a dedicated, national telecare awareness campaign.

I hope this provides you with reassurance that we’re taking the right steps to fully inform and protect BT customers throughout this important programme.

However, we are also reliant on other organisations also fulfilling their responsibilities to keep customers safe.  Most importantly, we need data from local authorities and telecare providers to confidently identify telecare users so we can give them the right support at the right time.  We have so far received data from only around 100 (all we need are their telecare-using residents’ phone numbers) and we have worked with the Local Government Association on a legally-compliant sharing agreement.  Too many are not engaging or not willing to provide this.

I would therefore strongly encourage you to please contact all local authorities in your constituency to ensure they have completed a data sharing agreement which will allow us to identify the customers who will need additional support. 

The switch is a once-in-a-generation upgrade which will ensure that everyone is reliably connected now and into the future – and a critical step on the path to the UK’s digital future.  We’re determined to support all our customers through this at every stage.

As BT have suggested, I have written to all the local authorities in the area to ensure that they have done this.

I will continue to stand up for residents on this, and ensure that people are not forced into a system which is unworkable and poses a risk to them in the event of an emergency.