This article was developed in partnership with BT.
You may have seen a letter arrive at your parent's house. Or perhaps they've mentioned "something about the phone" in passing, and you've filed it away alongside everything else waiting for your attention.
The UK's landline telephone network is changing. The old analogue system is being switched off by January 2027, replaced by a digital service that works through broadband. Every household with a landline will be affected, including your parent's.
If you haven't heard about this yet, you are not alone. This is the kind of change that tends to arrive in parents' post and sit unopened until someone else thinks to ask about it.
For most people, the practical change is small and free. But for carents managing a parent who relies on their landline as a lifeline, or who uses a pendant alarm or telecare device, there are specific things that may need to happen before the switch. This is what you need to know.
What is actually changing?
The UK has been running on an analogue phone network for decades. It is no longer fit for purpose, and the telephone industry has been working towards replacing it with a digital system for some time. The change is known as the Digital Switchover.
The practical reality for most households is straightforward: phone calls will no longer run through the phone socket on the wall, but through a broadband connection. For most BT customers, the transition is as simple as plugging the phone handset into the broadband router instead.
Your parent's phone number will not change. Over 99% of phone handsets, including accessible phones, are compatible with the new system. For most BT, EE and Plusnet customers, the move to Digital Voice, BT's new home phone service, is free.
One misconception worth addressing early: the landline is not going away. It is being upgraded.
When is this happening?
The national deadline is January 2027. BT will contact customers four weeks before their individual switch date, to allow time to prepare.
There are no regional differences in timing across the UK.
If a household receives contact from BT about the switchover and does not respond, there is a genuine risk of disruption to phone and broadband services. When the letter or call arrives, responding at that point is worth doing.
What about your parent's pendant alarm or telecare device?
This is the question carents with a parent who uses a pendant alarm or telecare device are most likely to have, and it requires action on two separate fronts.
These devices matter. Carents in our community describe being woken in the night by an accidentally pressed lifeline button, fielding follow-up calls from monitoring services and ambulance services to confirm everything is safe. Others are managing telecare providers from hundreds of miles away, troubleshooting remotely when something stops working. The admin around keeping these devices running tends to land on the carent, and the Digital Switchover is one more thing to be aware of.
Pendant alarms, healthcare alerts, and telecare devices that connect through a phone line may need to be checked or upgraded before the switch. The digital system operates differently from the old analogue one, and not all devices will automatically work in the same way.
If your parent uses one of these devices, two calls are likely needed.
The first is to BT. BT and EE customers can call 0800 077 8813. Plusnet customers can call 0800 079 0009. BT will flag the account and put the right support in place for the transition, including a free in-home engineer visit where needed.
The second is to the telecare provider directly. Whether your parent's pendant alarm or fall detector came from their local council, a housing association, or a private provider, it is worth contacting that organisation to ask whether any upgrades or changes are needed before the switch.
It is worth making both calls. The telecare provider cannot confirm whether BT's network change affects their device, and BT cannot confirm whether the device itself needs an upgrade.
What about power cuts?
This is a concern carents raise regularly, and it is a reasonable one.
Analogue landlines continued working during a power cut. Digital landlines run through broadband, which requires power. For carents whose parent uses a health pendant or lives somewhere with unreliable mobile signal, this can feel like a meaningful gap.
BT has a provision for this. Customers with additional needs, including those who use health pendants or do not have reliable mobile coverage, can access free backup power solutions. These allow calls to be made during a power outage.
To access this, your parent will need to let BT know, or you can register on their behalf as a third-party contact. It is not applied automatically. Registration is available through the Connected Together webform at www.bt.com/connected-together, or by calling 0330 1234 150.
What if your parent does not have broadband?
For households without broadband, BT is offering a dedicated landline service that allows customers to continue using their landline in the same way they do today. A broadband connection is not a requirement for keeping a working landline, and a landline will continue to work during a power outage.
A note on scam calls
One benefit that comes with the switch is worth knowing about. BT's Digital Voice service blocks the majority of scam calls and provides clearer call quality. It also allows calls to be diverted to a mobile if the user is out of the house.
Carents in our community describe managing scam calls on their parent's behalf as a regular part of their week whether it be blocking numbers, fielding calls from worried parents, worrying about what information may have been disclosed. For carents whose ageing parent may be vulnerable to phone scams, the call-blocking built into Digital Voice is a meaningful improvement on what the old system offered.
What carents can do now
You may already be managing correspondence, bills, or healthcare admin for your parent. If so, the switchover may be worth adding to that list, particularly if any of the following apply.
For carents whose parent uses a pendant alarm or telecare device, contacting BT and the device provider ahead of the switch is the most useful starting point. Free engineer support is available, but BT need to know about the device first.
For carents whose parent relies heavily on their landline, registering additional needs with BT means the right level of support can be put in place. BT and EE customers: 0800 077 8813. Plusnet customers: 0800 079 0009.
For carents managing things remotely, registering as a third-party contact with BT makes it possible to act on your parent's behalf. This can be done by contacting BT directly.
When the switch notification arrives, BT will contact your parent around four weeks before their switch date. If you manage their post or calls, responding at that point with any additional needs flagged is the most direct route to ensuring the right support is arranged.
BT's Connected Together hub at www.bt.com/connected-together is the central resource for customers who need extra help with the switchover.
Where to get more information
BT, EE and Plusnet customers:
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Connected Together hub: www.bt.com/connected-together
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Telecare and additional needs (BT/EE): 0800 077 8813
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Telecare and additional needs (Plusnet): 0800 079 0009
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General enquiries: 0330 1234 150
Other useful resources:
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Ofcom has published consumer guidance on the Digital Switchover
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The UK Government website carries information on the switchover and what to expect
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Age UK has guidance for older people navigating the transition
If your parent is with a different provider, contacting them directly is the right starting point for information about their switchover timeline and support options.
