VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS STILL IN THE DARK OVER LANDLINE SWITCHOVER
Pensioners and other vulnerable people are still in the dark about the digital landline switchover, as bosses are warned by campaigners that many still do not understand how to avoid being left with broadband they don't know how to use.
Amid a national concern over a lack of support for customers, MailOnline can reveal it will take months for telecoms firms and government to develop a definition for 'vulnerable' people in the midst of the national switchover from copper landlines.
At a meeting with leading campaigners, civil servants confirmed that no current customer will be forced to switch to the new internet-based system for the time being, but 'enhanced' protection for vulnerable customers remains far off.
All broadband companies are currently working to switch customers to digital, voice-based landlines, which they laud as a better alternative to the ageing and increasingly less-reliable traditional copper wires.
But the current timetable of completing the change by 2025 across the UK is looking increasingly unlikely amid concerns that older and vulnerable people, who are more likely to rely on landlines for communication, could be placed in danger. Campaigners have slammed the deadline as 'ludicrous'.
It comes after a petition organised by Silver Voices and the Digital Poverty Alliance for the government to review the current timetable gained more than 11,000 signatures and reports that it could be delayed by up to two years.
At a recent meeting between civil servants from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the head of Silver Voices Dennis Reed, MailOnline understands it was pledged that no existing customers at telecoms firms such as BT, Virgin and EE will be forced to switchover to the new digital system.
This includes customers who are set to renew their existing contracts, but new customers are not covered by the agreement, meaning they may have to receive the new digital landline service.
The DSIT also said it was working with telecoms firms to develop a definition of 'vulnerable' customers, who would be in line for 'enhanced' support with the switchover.
It pointed to Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan's work on the issue and said she secured even more measures to protect customers last month.
This followed cases in which vulnerable people who had had the new internet-based service installed finding that personal alarms, designed to automatically call for help in emergencies, no longer worked.
Ms Donelan personally held meetings with multiple telecoms firms after these reports.
But the process to define 'vulnerable' people is expected to take several months, potentially leaving thousands of people who take on a new landline contract without this package of support.
The definition is expected to go beyond simply applying to people with health alarms, although the exact parameters remain unclear.
Mr Reed told MailOnline: 'Under the radar there has been a massive change in the strategy to implement the digital switchover from traditional landlines.
'The process is now voluntary and the customer's consent to switch must be obtained. Telecom companies can no longer insist on renewed contracts being digital only.'
He continued: 'The ludicrous former timetable for every household to be switched by the end of next year must now be extended significantly, as Silver Voices has consistently argued.
'Until older and vulnerable customers can be assured that they will be able to make emergency calls under the new system, the existing copper wire landlines must be maintained.'
In March, BT reportedly informed the government it would no longer be able to transfer all customers by 2025, with talks underway for a new deadline which could be pushed back as far as 2027.
But officially the timetable remains set to migrate all landline households by next year.
MailOnline previously reported how the forced rollout was paused in December following a number of 'serious incidents' in which personal alarms failed.
The alarms, used by 1.8million people in the UK, are unable to function in the case of an internet outage or power cut - in contrast to alarms that are linked to traditional landlines, which maintain the ability to make phone calls for some time after a power outage.
Other forms of alert systems, such as burglar alarms which automatically call the police in the event of a break-in, are also affected.
Providers previously promised to carry out extra checks on those who have already been forcibly migrated to digital to ensure they do not have telecare devices the provider was unaware of, and if they do, to ensure suitable support is provided.
Secondary methods such as battery powered back-up phones and hybrid systems have been deployed by some firms, but campaigners are concerned they could confuse some vulnerable people and are not sufficient.
Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of Digital Poverty Alliance, told MailOnline she is pleased that forced migrations have been halted, but that there is still confusion amongst many about how to avoid their system being changed.
She said: 'There is still confusion for those who are unclear that moving to a new contract will constitute consent to move to a digital telephone line, and what this means for them in the event of power cuts or for private lifeline solutions.
'Disappointingly, despite the Parliamentary debate on the petition focusing on digital poverty, DSIT did not reach out to us about our concerns, including that much more work is required to tackle digital exclusion that the current policies deliver.'
A Government spokesperson said: 'While the decision to switch off the analogue landline network has been taken by the telecoms industry, we have taken decisive action to get telecoms companies to agree to new measures to further protect vulnerable customers throughout the digital transition.
'This includes stopping telecare users from being switched to a digital network until they have a compatible solution in place and working with industry and charities to define 'vulnerability' so these customers can receive additional support.
'This is a collaborative effort which takes the agreement of many different parties, but we aim to have an agreed definition by summer.'
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