You may have heard that landlines are changing and that the UK’s telephone network is going digital. These changes will affect everyone who has a landline they’d like to keep using.
The NFU is also working with BT and other providers to ensure that rural communities are not left without sufficient support and access to working home phones in any emergency situations and continue to press the importance of rural mobile access to industry and government.
An industry-wide shift from analogue to digital will see BT and many other home phone operators in the UK provide services over a broadband connection, similar to work taking place in other countries around the world.
By January 2027, the old analogue network will be completely switched off.
To further raise awareness of the switch, BT is launching a new initiative called ‘Connected Together’, aimed at friends and family members who may require additional support.
With ‘Connected Together’, alongside BT’s direct customer communications, BT will be encouraging friends and family members of those with additional needs to take a few simple steps to help support their loved ones during the switch to a digital landline, such as helping explain what they need to do in preparation for switching and why it is important.
4 key steps to help your loved ones prepare
1. Inform and educate
Ensure your family member or friend understands the switch to Digital Voice, why it’s happening, and how to prepare. They will receive at least four weeks’ notice.
2. Switching is simple
Just connect your home phone to your router instead of the socket on your wall. Follow BT’s step-by-step guidance or request expert assistance, if required. Pricing and plans remain unchanged, with added benefits like spam call blocking.
3. Notify BT of your circumstances
If your loved one uses a telecare device, pendant alarm, please let the phone company know and also check with the equipment provider to see whether it needs to be upgraded ahead of the switch.
4. What if they don’t have broadband?
Don’t worry, BT can offer a dedicated landline service, allowing them to use their landline in the same way they do today.
BT will be providing dedicated information and resources to support friends and family members – together with those with additional needs – via a dedicated website, with selected social media influencers and their family members participating in raising awareness of the switch.
For more information on the changes and the Connected Together campaign visit the BT website.
Digital Voice: When will I be moved?
The digital alternative is also referred to as ‘VoIP’, ‘IP voice’, or has been given branded names like BT’s Digital Voice, which provides greater reliability, improved resilience, clearer call quality and enhanced scam call protection.
In preparation for the change to digital landlines, home phone providers have been gradually switching customers over and they are now set to ramp-up the rollout ahead of the deadline.
BT is currently switching the lowest landline usage customers who have not advised the company they have additional needs or need additional support. These customers will be contacted four weeks before making the move to Digital Voice.
From April 2025, BT will begin migrating vulnerable customers on a regional basis, with additional support such as free engineer visits and battery back-up equipment offered.
Power cuts
Your new digital landline service needs power to make calls.
If there’s a power cut, customers are advised to use a mobile phone if they’re able to do so. If you can, BT recommends buying a 4G mobile phone with a 4G SIM card (there are a range of low-cost options available) and keeping it charged in case of an emergency or power cut.
If mobile is not an option, battery back-up units are available for purchase. For customers who have disclosed any additional needs, BT is offering a free battery back-up unit or a hybrid phone, if you have 4G signal, that can switch to a mobile network and has a built-in battery enabling at least one hour’s talk time.
BT will soon also offer a new, more advanced battery back-up unit which enables digital calls to be made in the event of a power outage. The new battery is smaller and lighter than the current version and features a standby mode which can be used during prolonged power cuts.
Customers who wish to purchase a battery back-up unit or hybrid phone for additional peace of mind, can do so from providers or a battery back-up unit can be purchased from any electrical provider.
For those with poor mobile signal or without broadband
For the very small percentage of the population without access to broadband, BT will ensure that its customers have the connectivity they need, in line with its service obligations.
Customers can continue to use their landlines in the same way as they do today and will be contacted when they’re able to move over to Digital Voice or a dedicated landline service.
However, a 999 call – using a 4G Sim on more modern 4G handset – will work on any network that serves your area, it doesn’t have to be your own.
Working with the government under a programme called the Shared Rural Network, mobile networks will cover 95% of the UK by the mid-2020s.
Keeping rural communities connected
BT is working with a range of key stakeholders to help ensure customers get the support they need to make the move. This includes ongoing engagement with government, Ofcom, local authorities, charities, and community groups.
Through its Digital Voice Advisory Group – an association made up of charities and representative groups that has been advising on the needs of customers most affected by the switch – BT is working with organisations like the NFU, ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England, and RSN (Rural Services Network) to ensure rural communities get the support they need.
