08 Jan BT is inviting customers in East Anglia to come and find out about the switch to digital landlines
BT announces a series of events across East Anglia this January to raise awareness of the industry switch from analogue to digital landlines by the end of January 2027.
As part of BT’s commitment to supporting customers through this change, BT experts will be available to talk to customers about how landlines are changing, the steps they’ll need to take and the support they can access to help them through the process.
Landlines in the UK are going digital to replace the 40-year-old analogue landline technology which has become increasingly fragile. For most customers, this industry-wide upgrade will see calls made over a broadband line.
Vicky Hicks, Senior Engagement Manager at BT, said: “We will be visiting East Anglia throughout January to speak to our customers face-to-face and answer any questions they may have about the essential upgrade from analogue to digital landlines.
“The landline is here to stay, and for the majority of customers, making the switch simply means plugging your phone into a broadband router instead of into a wall-mounted phone socket. This will bring new benefits like advanced spam call blocking. On average, we prevent 15,000 scam calls a day from reaching our customers.
“Thanks to upgrades to East Anglia’s broadband infrastructure, the vast majority of homes and businesses have access to superfast broadband and more than one million can now get ultrafast, full fibre broadband using the Openreach network. This means most of our customers won’t experience much of a difference in their service when they make the switch.”
BT has 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 – available free to customers with additional needs – is smaller and lighter than the current version and features a standby mode which can be used during prolonged power cuts.
It also confirmed that customers who identify as vulnerable, have additional needs or who use a telecare alarm system will not be switched until Spring 2025 at the earliest. This allows time for data sharing agreements with local authorities or telecare companies to be in place and in-home support for telecare users to become available.
A dedicated landline service will be offered to customers who don’t use broadband, allowing them to use their landline in the same way as they do today until a digital solution becomes available, or 2030, if that comes sooner.
BT is working with local authorities, the telecare industry and government bodies to ensure vulnerable customers are identified and can be supported with the necessary steps to make the upgrade in the future. Customers who identify as vulnerable or need additional support should contact their landline provider.
