Penrith and Solway MP has called for a delay to the UK phone network switch to digital in rural areas to ensure people are being supported in the transition from the analogue copper landlines to the new digital landlines system.
Traditional landline telephone networks across the UK are being retired before the copper wire system is fully switched off in January 2027.
Service providers have started migrating traditional analogue copper landlines to digital system which uses broadband internet to provide voice calls the installation of new analogue lines was stopped last year by Openreach in most areas.
The Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group's (APPG) recently published a report after adverse weather conditions caused power cuts in some communities that have already seen changes to phone lines lost the ability to make calls including 999 calls, highlighting the wider impact digital switchover for landlines could bring to rural communities as the new digital landlines that require power to work.
Migrations from analogue to digital landlines orgonaly planed to be completed by 2025 were paused in December 2023 after reports of "serious incidents" involving telecare devices and the impacts of power loss cutting services.
Openreach and other providers has now said that all landlines will be switched to digital by the 31st January 2027.
This week the Penrith and Solway MP asked the Government to delay the switch for people living in rural areas.
Markus Campbell-Savours MP for Penrith and Solway said: “I want the Government to keep the analogue telephone system on for the time being; until we're confident that the digital system is robust in rural areas. Especially given the prevalence of power cuts and storms. I asked the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology: what steps he is taking to ensure my constituents in Penrith and Solway are being supported in the transition.”
Openreach has said “Copper wires and analogue signals have served our nation for over a century. They’ve kept hospitals, schools and emergency services connected, they’ve powered card machines on our high streets and delivered some of most important phone conversations we’ve ever had with our family and friends.”
“But, because it's been around for a long time, it’s no longer as efficient as it could be. Replacement parts are hard to come by and, it fails more often than we’d like, meaning it doesn’t provide the world-class service that we need it to. This is why we'll be retiring the analogue phone network by 31st January 2027.”
“By this point everyone in the UK will have been upgraded to a digital phone line, providing us with a greener, faster, and more reliable service. This means landline voice calls will soon be transmitted digitally - in the same way your broadband works. By modernising the telephone network, we’ll be able to do more than ever before, helping the UK to stay competitive on the global stage.”
“To enable this change, most people in the UK from big organisations, to small local businesses, data hungry families, to elderly relatives using their landline as a lifeline will need to answer the call and get ready for the Upgrade to Digital Phone Lines.”
You can find out more information about Digital Switch Over, by visiting https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines
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