The big switch-off – what it means for you
Feb 2, 2022Did you know that the copper phone network your phone is connected to is going to be switched off at the end of 2025? If the answer is ‘no’ then you are in good company as around 90% of people are unaware of what’s probably the biggest project since TV went digital 10 years ago.
Like TV, the phone network is going digital. This will provide a greater range of services, better quality and be less expensive to maintain. They should also in future help protect us from scam calls. Developing the digital phone network is linked to the roll-out of full fibre broadband although the two aren’t on the same timescale (by 2025 the aim is about 85 % full fibre broadband coverage – although it will be less in rural areas like ours). Digital phone services use the same technology as for example, Skype & Zoom called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
You don’t need to do anything now until your provider contacts you. But from next year, traditional phone services will not be offered to new or re-contracting customers and you may be migrated sooner if the copper network develops a serious fault.
In most cases, changing over will not be too difficult involving plugging your phone into your router or via an adapter into your router. There are some tricky issues still to sort out – hence a couple of pilot programmes which have been going on which hopefully will provide some answers. Not all special equipment and services eg alarms & emergency pendants will work - although newer systems should. Most importantly, VOIP services will be powered by your home electricity supply so in the event of a power cut, the service will go down unless there’s a back-up supply. There are obligations placed on providers & I’ll write about this in more detail in a subsequent post.