UK Telecoms Giants Ordered to Pause Digital Landline Rollout

Government intervention follows serious incidents of telecare devices failing, leaving vulnerable individuals at risk.

BT and other telecoms giants have been ordered to stop forcing digital phone lines on the elderly after power and internet outages left pensioners stranded.
An estimated 1.8 million people in the UK rely on telecare alarms to call for urgent medical help, which can fail if there is a power cut or internet coverage drops out.
Providers have now signed up to a charter to protect the vulnerable, including the disabled and the very old, who rely on personal alarms.
BT and Virgin Media confirmed that they were pausing the rollout of the new network in response.
Critics have condemned the action as too little and too late and urged the government to delay the switch-off of analogue services planned for December 2024.