The Digital Switchover for Careline Alarm Users

Have you heard from your telephone provider about the switchover to digital?

This guide to the digital switchover for careline users aims to answer all your questions and leave you feeling confident about what you need to do to maintain your invaluable lifeline alarm service throughout this change.

Our national telephone network is going digital.

In 2017, BT announced that Openreach will be switching off the analogue telephone network by 2027 and replacing it with a fully digital network¹.

At the time, they said the old networks made up of copper wires (often referred to as the PSTN or ISDN networks) were no longer fit for purpose and that they needed to be updated in order to keep up with future demands. More specifically, calls will be made using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology².

Following recent telecare device malfunctions, UK phone companies temporarily paused the mandatory transition of vulnerable customers to digital landlines, initially planned to complete by 2027. Providers now adhere to a charter ensuring that individuals are only switched to digital lines if it doesn’t impact their telecare device.

Have you received a letter, SMS or email from your provider about your landline telephone service being upgraded? Has your landline already been upgraded to a digital one? If the answer to either of these questions is ‘Yes’ and you also use a personal alarm or careline service, please keep reading this guide.

The BT Group has revised its timetable for all customers who will be moved to a digital landline and now says that “all customers now expected to have moved off the old analogue PSTN by the end of January 2027”⁶.

According to the BT newsroom article linked above, all BT customers will be contacted at least four weeks prior to being switched to make sure they are ready to be moved to a digital landline.

From Spring 2025, BT will contact customers who identify as vulnerable or with additional needs about the switch in areas where data sharing agreements with Local Authorities or Telecare companies are in place and in-home support for telecare users is available.

Reassuringly, they’re also now saying that the engineers will provide additional support to vulnerable customers who have a telecare alarm.

“Engineering appointments will be made ahead of the switch and additional support will be provided on the day to ensure that customers are left with a working telecare device.”⁶

For customers who don’t use broadband – such as those with landline-only services and customers with specific connectivity needs like alarms — BT is developing an interim landline service. This service aims to maintain connectivity for these customers while transitioning them away from the analogue PSTN network.

They will be installing new equipment in local telephone exchanges to ensure that these consumers can continue using their landlines as they do today. This solution will remain in place until a digital alternative is available or until 2030, whichever comes first. Trials are already underway, with a nationwide rollout for eligible customers planned for autumn 2024.

Once you have been given your switchover date by your phone company, it is crucial that you begin arranging the transition from your analogue personal alarm to a digital one.

If you are an existing Telecare24 customer and you have one of our older analogue plans, please give us a call to let us know you have received your switchover date. We’ll help you upgrade to one of our new digital plans over the phone.

Not a Telecare24 customer? Don’t wait for your switchover date. Protect yourself ahead of time and order a digital careline plan today.

BT say that they will continue to maintain its strict policies to protect telecare users and vulnerable customers where they are made aware of their status and will continue to provide resilient solutions to customers who are dependent on their landline. These include:

• Provision of free battery back-up units for customers with additional needs, such as those with health pendants, those over 70, or those without mobile coverage. These units ensure calls can be made during power outages.
• Offering a hybrid phone with an eight-hour battery back-up that allows calls over the mobile network during power outages.
• Offering engineering appointments for vulnerable customers. These customers will receive necessary equipment automatically and will not be switched until they have spoken with an advisor and scheduled an appointment.
• Launching ‘Prove IP Telecare’ in Spring 2025, offering in-home support for telecare users. An Openreach engineer will assist with the switch from analogue to digital landline and ensure the telecare device functions correctly before leaving.

Customers with our GO! GPS alarm or our legacy Buddi alarm (no longer available) don’t need to do anything. Your equipment is unaffected by the digital switchover as it uses a SIM card and the mobile network (GSM) to connect you to our careline monitoring team.

If you are a Telecare24 customer, please give us a call as soon as possible on 0800 180 82 20. We’ll guide you through what to do over the phone.

Customers of other careline services (i.e. not Telecare24) should contact their careline service provider or join Telecare24.

Rest assured, we are here to support you during the digital switchover and will do everything we can to make sure you continue to enjoy peace of mind with 24/7 access to our care team in an emergency.

As time has moved forward so has our dependence on the internet. Today, a fast connection to the web is a necessity for most people and businesses across the world.

Over the years, the internet added extra strain to the ageing ‘analogue’ systems that are based on old networks of copper wire. Calls have taken longer to connect, and the sound quality has degraded.

Maintaining the traditional networks is also costing more, with replacement parts for old equipment getting more expensive.

We’ve also become less patient when using the internet; we expect web pages to load quickly, we expect calls to connect instantly, and we expect calls to sound clear and of high quality.

The new digital telephone network will enhance your careline alarm service in several ways, ultimately resulting in a faster and more reliable lifeline that gives you even more peace of mind.

• Instant connectivity to our careline operators. As soon as you press your pendant you will be instantly connected to an operator. No more waiting for dial tones before getting the help that you need.
• Faster response to emergencies. Operators will be able to assess you much more quickly, getting you the help you need with no delays.
• Higher speech quality. Speech will be carried over a superfast digital network with crystal clear quality
• A more reliable service. Control Centres will be able to access the alarm remotely to resolve faults with the equipment.
• Enhanced features. New technology will enable many new telehealth solutions to assist users in their home.

Everyone who uses a traditional landline telephone will be affected by this change. In order to make calls on a home phone, you will need to have a phone that plugs into your broadband hub instead of the socket on the wall.

People moving house or getting new home phone lines will also be affected. In 2021, BT stopped offering analogue lines to new customers⁴.

Initially, BT won’t be proactively switching anyone who falls under the below criteria, where it has this information available:

• Customers with a healthcare pendant*
• Customers who only use landlines
• Customers with no mobile signal
• Customers who have disclosed any additional needs.

Customers who fall into any of these categories should contact BT to ensure their data is up to date.

*Careline alarm users who have equipment that plugs into a master telephone socket on the wall will be affected eventually. Once you are switched over, the equipment may need to be plugged into your smart hub or broadband router instead – unless you have a SIM-enabled device that doesn’t require either of these connections.

Existing Telecare24 customers should visit Upgrade Instructions for Existing Telecare24 Customers

By modernising the telephone network and switching from analogue to digital, your phone calls should connect to the other end faster than before.

You should also notice your calls sound clearer. If your copper phone line has degraded over time, you may notice crackling noises when you make calls today. After the switch, your calls should sound of a higher audible quality.

These changes may be especially noticeable if you make long-distance calls and you find that they take longer to connect, or that they sound distorted or quieter than normal phone calls.

Openreach aims to finish the switchover of all analogue telephone lines by 2027⁶. To ensure a smooth transition, we know that BT will be upgrading their landline customers using a phased approach as and when the digital service becomes available in a local area. They should be in touch to let you know exactly when your switch over day is⁴.

If you are with a different service provider such as Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin, you can expect to hear from them directly to let you know when your switchover will be happening.