The old copper phone network is being switched off, with a deadline of 31 January 2027. For most people it's a small change. If you have a personal alarm, or poor mobile signal at home, it matters a lot more.
Phone calls are moving off the old copper phone network and onto your broadband. BT calls this Digital Voice; other providers have their own names for it, but it's the same change. Your provider will contact you before your line is switched.
For most homes, the practical difference is small. Your phone plugs into the back of your broadband router instead of the phone socket on the wall, and you keep your number. Calls sound the same, or better.
An old-style landline kept working in a power cut, because the line itself carried power. A digital landline doesn't. If the router has no power, there's no phone.
If you rely on your landline — no mobile phone, or poor mobile signal at home — tell your provider. They have to offer you a free solution, such as a battery backup, that gives you at least an hour of access to emergency calls in a power cut.
An hour is the minimum, and power cuts after storms can last longer than that. A small battery backup unit for the router (a "UPS") can keep both your phone and Wi-Fi going for much longer. It's worth considering if you live somewhere that loses power now and then.
If you or someone you look after has a personal alarm, a fall alarm, or other telecare that calls for help over the phone line, this is the bit that matters most. Some older alarms don't work reliably on a digital line.
It's worth a quick look at what else uses the phone socket. Burglar alarms that dial out, some older care equipment and some stairlift phones may need changing. Cordless phones usually just need their base station plugging into the router. A few very old phones and answering machines don't like the change.
Scammers are using this change as a script: "your phone line will be cut off today unless you pay" or "we need your bank details to move you to digital". Your provider will write to you well in advance, and won't threaten to cut you off on the spot. If you get a call like that, hang up and ring your provider on the number on your bill. If you've already given details, see what to do next.
I can come and check what's plugged into your phone line, get everything connected to the router properly, test any alarms, and fit a battery backup so your phone and Wi-Fi survive short power cuts. That's usually a single fix-it visit — £59 for up to an hour, with any hardware quoted before I buy it.
Written by Rich, Cumulus Technologies, Bournemouth.
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