The government has launched an action plan to safeguard telecare users from the switching off of the UK’s analogue phone network.

Its replacement by a fully digital network will mean that existing services connected to the copper-based system, including many telecare devices, will need to be switched over by January 2027.

The switchover was initiated by the telecommunications industry, independently of government, with companies migrating customers to a digital service against an initial deadline of the end of 2025.

However, in December 2023, the then government said there had been a number of “serious incidents” in which telecare users’ devices had failed following migration, putting them at significant risk.

‘Telecare users must be protected’

“There is a risk that the process of migrating telecare users to digital landlines will disrupt their telecare services,” said minister for care Stephen Kinnock, in a statement launching the telecare action plan.

Stephen Kinnock (photo: Richard Townshend Photography)

“Telecare users must be protected during the digital phone switchover and every effort must be taken to avoid these risks.”

The telecare national action plan, which is targeted at councils, telecare providers, telecoms companies and housing providers, has four objectives:

1. That no telecare user will be migrated to digital landline services without the communication provider, the user or the telecare service provider confirming that the user has a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place.
2. That use of analogue telecare devices is phased out to ensure that only digital devices are being used by a deadline that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will set following talks with stakeholders.
3. That telecare users, their support networks and their service providers should understand what actions they need to take to ensure a safe migration to digital phone lines.
4. That stakeholders identified within the plan collaborate to safeguard telecare users through the digital phone switchover.

Councils sharing data with telecoms sector

The DHSC and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which are jointly responsible for the action plan, said a key priority under objective 1 was that councils and telecare providers shared data about service users with telecoms providers, so they could put additional safeguards in place for them.

The Local Government Association (LGA) and London Office of Technology and Innovation (LOTI) have drawn up a data sharing template to streamline the process of councils and telecoms providers reaching agreements.

This stated that the lawful basis for councils sharing the data was “substantial public interest”, based on it being in the best interests of people with care and support needs using social care for them to do so.

The DSIT and DHSC said they would engage with local authorities who had not signed data sharing agreements to understand the barriers to doing so.

Continued use of analogue devices

The departments said objective 2 required action to stop the manufacture, sales and purchase of new analogue telecare devices. Ministers wrote to telecare suppliers in September 2024, requesting that they do not sell analogue-only devices, while the departments are also working with consumer groups to highlight the risk of people purchasing such equipment.

However, they added that, while their long-term ambitions were for telecare users to have fully digital devices that were resilient to power cuts, interim solutions that enabled the use of analogue devices on digital phone lines were permissible in the medium-term, so long as there was adequate risk assessment, testing and ongoing monitoring.

The action plan said testing had shown that the reliability of such devices was dependent on the model, the telephone line type and provider and equipment used by the alarm receiving centre, meaning telecare providers needed to “ensure the reliability of the specific combination of equipment and services they use”.

Raising awareness among telecare users

It added that a national awareness raising campaign on the switchover, to be launched by the telecoms industry in early 2025, would be “tailored to the unique characteristics of telecare users and their support networks”.

The action plan also highlighted the risks of criminals exploiting the switchover to target people with scams, by tricking them into sharing personal information.

It pointed to LGA guidance on the issue, which advised councils to ensure that frontline staff were aware of the switchover and reported potential scams to trading standards while also raising them as safeguarding concerns.

The LGA guidance also urged co-ordination between children’s and adults’ social services teams and trading standards to identify which residents may be vulnerable to scams and to proactively safeguard them, for example, through setting up call blocking services.

Alex Wright is a reporter for Comms Business, a sister publication of Community Care, which is running the Fit to Switch campaign to raise awareness of the switch-off of the analogue phone network

First the good news: Britain is heading towards a world-class digitally interconnected future where all telecommunications and data transactions take place over reliable, high-speed fibre optics. Everything from streaming TV to sending emails to making voice calls is faster and easier over high-speed optical fibre cables.

Now the bad news: your existing call-handling, automated key-holder alerts, fire alarms and remote back-office support services will probably stop working as a result.

Switch-off deadline

That’s because the UK’s existing analogue legacy phone network will be switched off by 31 January 2027, and replaced with a fully digital network that uses internet protocol (IP) technology across a fibre-based service.

That means every phone line in the country will become digital, routing calls over IP rather than the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) or the integrated services digital network (ISDN).

Any services that aren’t switched to the new network will be lost. It’s not just phone services that will be affected either. There are large amounts of equipment that remain connected to soon-to-be-retired telecoms infrastructure.

This includes lift emergency lines, building entry systems, fire and door alarms, burglar alarms, CCTV, vending machines, a range of medical equipment and telecare alarms and devices.

That’s why Comms Business has launched the Fit To Switch campaign to raise awareness about the PSTN switch-off and any associated issues.

Critical affected services

Any interruption or disruption to essential care services, and the key communications system and infrastructure needed to support them, can be potentially life-threatening.

However, many social care managers may be unaware of the need to switch over affected devices, particularly if the costs associated with renting the line and maintaining the equipment are covered by ongoing contracts.

For many organisations, devices such as automated burglar alarms, emergency call-lines in lifts, remotely monitored process fail-safes or even credit card payment systems are services they buy on recurring monthly terms from specialist third-party providers.

These specialists install dedicated telephone lines to ensure their call handlers or data centres are automatically contacted the moment the customer needs their services.

This wasn’t a problem when we had a copper telephone network for those services to quietly run on. But now all these lines are going to have to transition from copper to fibre. And that is not just a matter of unplugging one piece of kit and plugging in another.

The old copper network provides ‘always on’, fail-safe functionality. The system runs on its own 48Volt DC power supply, regularly pulsing a ‘chirrup’ up the line to check continuity of signal. It is this pulse which provides the familiar dial-tone, reassuring the user that there is a working line to the exchange equipment. But once the copper line is retired, the 48Volt equipment will no longer work.

Implications of switch-off

By contrast, the fibre line is entirely passive until it is ‘lit’ by equipment at the business end. Lighting the line requires a modem and a power source.

So, we are moving from a system that powers itself remotely to a system that has to be powered from the user’s end. This raises two major questions:

• Firstly, is your alarm or process provider equipped to update your kit ahead of the copper switch-off?
• Secondly, what happens if there is a mains power failure?

Beyond that, the logistical implications for the organisation are obvious. Is there even power available to the equipment? Will it need to be re-sited? Does it need to be wired into the emergency circuits? Will it need battery back-up or a dedicated 5G modem?

When Comms Business raised the issue with the trade associations who represent two of the most obvious ‘at risk’ service sectors – lift suppliers and fire alarm companies – their responses yielded only referrals to articles and supplier sales presentations made at past industry conferences.

There was no specific guidance for their members. There was no directory of members whose systems are tested and ready for the non-copper future.

The need to start planning today

With the old copper infrastructure due to be phased out completely across the UK by 31 January 2027, it’s vital for organisations to start planning for the switchover today.

Everything connected to your phone lines needs to be audited and reviewed to identify affected services so that you can order timely technology upgrades.

Rather than being a negative, however, the switch-off represents a prime opportunity for the social care sector to undergo a digital transformation that should drive improved outcomes and experiences, as well as seamless communication and collaboration among care  staff.

For more information about Fit to Switch and the PSTN switch-off, visit the campaign website.

To find out if your organisation is affected, complete the Fit to Switch survey.