PSTN Switch-off: Digital Landline Switch Delayed
BT delays plans to switch its customers from physical landlines to digital landlines.
The switch has been delayed due to “several incidents where telecare devices stopped working.”
It is known that “nearly two million people in the UK use personal alarms which rely on landlines.”, the BBC reports.
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BT has now abandoned the timeline of completing the national switchover by the end of 2025 and will instead aim to complete the move by the end of January 2027.
Why has the PSTN Switch-Off been Delayed?
A campaign group for elderly people said: “The delay is for just over a year, which we don’t think is long enough to make sure there are sufficient safeguards for vulnerable customers,” said Silver Voices head Dennis Reed.
“BT and the other telecoms firms haven’t even worked out what a vulnerable customer actually is, and we are calling for a more defined definition.
“We feel the deadline of January 2027 is very premature.”
What has BT said about the PSTN Switch-Off Delay?
Head of Security and Networks at BT, Howard Watson said: “The urgency for switching customers onto digital services grows by the day because the 40-year-old analogue landline technology is increasingly fragile.
“Managing customer migrations from analogue to digital as quickly and smoothly as possible, while making the necessary provisions for those customers with additional needs is critically important.”
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