What is the digital telephone switchover?
You may have recently heard about the upcoming digital telephone switchover in the media. BT has announced that by the end of 2027 all analogue telephone lines will be upgraded to the new ‘Digital Voice’ service.
These digital lines will use the internet to carry telephone calls, similar to how services such as Skype and Zoom work.
Why are telephone lines being upgraded?
The digital telephone switchover is happening due to increasing demand for faster networks and connectivity and will create a network fit for today’s demands.
The upgrades will create opportunities for new and exciting services in the future.
Will I still be able to use my personal alarm?
Customers with a digital personal alarm
If you have one of the following digital personal alarms, you won't need to do anything because they do not use a telephone line:
- Digital Personal Alarm
- Digital Fall Alarm
- Taking Care Anywhere
- Taking Care GO GPS Alarm
- Personal Alarm Watch
- Classic GPS Alarm
- In-Home Classic Personal Alarm (No Landline)
- In-Home Classic + Fall Alarm (No Landline)
Digital Voice compatibility
We have tested all our personal alarms at the Openreach testing lab and we know which of our own products work with new Digital Voice service from BT – we cannot vouch for other alarm providers though and so this advice only applies to our products.
Customers with a personal alarm that connects to a telephone socket
Current customers who have a personal alarm that connects to the traditional analogue phone line should retain their analogue line and not be upgraded to a digital one. This is the recommendation after the major telephone providers signed the Government's Public Switched Telephone Network charter.
If you are a Taking Care customer who has already been upgraded to a digital phone line, we recommend you upgrade to a digital personal alarm. Digital personal alarms are unaffected by the switchover because they do not use a telephone landline. Instead, digital personal alarms have a roaming multi-network SIM that will automatically switch to the strongest available mobile network.
In some instances, your analogue personal alarm may work on a digital phone line but this should be considered an interim measure.
If you have an In-Home Classic Personal Alarm or In-Home Classic + Fall Alarm that connects to a telephone socket, it will rely on the current analogue telephone lines. BT customers should receive a BT Smart Hub, which they can plug their personal alarm into. If you are not a BT customer, your personal alarm may not work on the new digital system without an adapter called an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA).
What is an Analogue Telephone Adapter?
The switchover to digital telephone lines will not happen all at once. When a region has gone through the digital telephone switchover process, telephone providers will provide a digital hub that will be equipped with an adapter called an Analogue Telephone Adapter.
The Analogue Telephone Adapter is designed so that you can plug your existing telephone equipment (including your personal alarm unit) into the back of the digital hub.
Personal alarms that use a telephone landline may not work on the new digital system without one of these adapters because older analogue equipment is not 100% compatible with the digital lines.
Read on for further information about how you may be impacted if you want to keep an analogue alarm and the options available to you.
How to set up your landline personal alarm with a BT Home Hub
How will the switchover affect my landline personal alarm?
One impact of digital lines will be lack of power backup in an outage. Currently with the analogue telephone network, if there is a power cut your telephone line is generally unaffected, and your landline personal alarm unit will have a battery backup so that you can make an emergency call if needed.
With digital lines, all calls will go through a digital hub, which is connected to the mains power. If there is no power, no call will be able to go through.
Even if your personal alarm has a battery backup, you will still not be able to contact the Emergency Response Team as the alarm unit would be connected to the digital hub which would not be able to make or receive calls during a power outage.
What are my options?
1. Ask to be excluded from the upgrade
Telephone landline customers who have a personal alarm should ask their telephone provider to be excluded from the upgrade and can continue to use their existing equipment. However, this should not be considered a long-term solution as analogue telephone lines will no longer be maintained after 2027.
2. Check you are eligible for a digital hub battery backup
Some telephone providers will also offer vulnerable residents a battery backup for their digital hub that can be used in the event of a power cut.
However, it will depend on your provider as to whether your backup battery pack will work with your personal alarm unit. Additionally, it will only provide power for approximately 1 hour.
3. Change to a digital personal alarm
The best and most reliable solution will be to change your personal alarm to a digital model. We have a range of devices that are digital ready and will work on the upgraded telephone lines:
- Taking Care Anywhere
- Digital Personal Alarm
- Digital Fall Alarm
- Taking Care GO GPS Alarm
- Personal Alarm Watch
These devices operate using a multi-network SIM, similar to how a mobile phone works.
Digital personal alarms
The best and most reliable solution will be to replace your alarm equipment with a digital unit.
If you would like to find out more about replacing your care alarm equipment, and to find out which digital device would best suit your lifestyle, please call 0800 085 7371.
Our Sales Advisors are available Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm and are happy to answer any questions you have.
