Dec 18, 2023
Digital landline switch paused for vulnerable people
UK phone companies have paused making vulnerable customers switch to digital landlines following "Serious incidents" where telecare devices stopped working. Ms Donelan said phone firms had "Agreed that the right thing to do is to temporarily pause all non-voluntary, managed migrations to a digital landline where there is any risk that a customer's telecare service will not continue to work". Phone providers said part of the problem is that they do not always know who has a telecare device, and elderly, vulnerable customers may not know that the switch is happening. BT has taken steps to protect telecare and other vulnerable users dependent on a landline during a power outage, such as supplying battery back-up units and hybrid phones that can switch to a mobile network and have a built-in battery. Last year, BT paused the switch to digital, after some elderly people were unable to dial 999 because of power outages caused by major storms.
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