The 2027 phone line switch-off: what it means for South Hams homes and businesses

What is changing

Openreach, which runs most of the UK's phone lines, says that all traditional phone lines will be going digital, with a switch-off date of 31 January 2027. You can read their explanation on the Openreach switch-off page. Ofcom, the regulator, has its own advice for consumers in Your landline is going digital.

Instead of plugging a phone into the wall socket, a digital landline usually connects to your broadband router. Calls travel over the internet, in the way that voice over IP (VoIP) services do. Many customers have already been moved, and your provider is likely to contact you.

Dates and arrangements can change, so please treat the public pages as the final word and check them rather than relying on an article, including this one.

Who is affected

Anyone with a traditional landline is affected, but the impact varies. If you have a phone and broadband from the same provider, they will usually arrange the move. The areas that need more care are:

• Care alarms, health pendants and telecare devices that use the phone line.
• Burglar and fire alarms that call a monitoring centre.
• Card payment machines and chip-and-pin terminals that dial out over the line.
• Door entry systems, lift phones, gate controls and some CCTV recorders.
• Fax lines, franking machines and older modems.
• Anyone who lives with poor mobile signal and relies on the landline in an emergency.
• Homes and businesses with no broadband, which can usually still get a landline-only digital service.

A power cut changes things

The old copper line carried its own small amount of power, so a basic phone kept working in a power cut. A digital landline relies on your router and mains electricity, so in a power cut the phone and the broadband stop unless you have battery backup.

That is a particular concern in rural parts of the South Hams, where power cuts can last a while and mobile signal can be unreliable. Ofcom expects providers to offer a solution to customers who need to be able to call emergency services in a power cut, so ask yours what they offer. A small battery backup on the router, and a charged mobile, are sensible additions.

A practical checklist

• Speak to your phone provider and ask when your line is due to move, and what they need from you.
• List everything connected to your phone line, including alarms, pendants, card machines and door entry. Ask each supplier whether the equipment works on a digital line.
• Tell your provider early if anyone in the household is vulnerable, relies on a care alarm or has no mobile signal.
• Check that your router is in a sensible place, supports voice, and has a battery backup if you want calls during a power cut.
• Check your broadband is reliable enough to carry calls, and consider a backup connection for a business.
• Keep important numbers on paper and in your mobile, and test calls after the move.
• Help older relatives and neighbours. A short chat now can prevent a very awkward day later.

VoIP and other options for businesses

Many businesses will welcome the change, because internet phone systems can do a lot that a traditional line could not. Calls can ring on a mobile or a laptop as well as a desk phone, numbers can stay with you, and staff can take calls from home or on the road.

The sensible approach is to look at how your business uses the phone now: how many lines, what hours, whether there is a main number customers rely on, and what else is plugged into it. Then match a service to that picture, with a plan for what happens if your internet fails. Our communications page describes how we help with business phone systems, Microsoft Teams and meeting-room kit.

At home, the change is usually simpler. If you would like help with plugging things in, checking an alarm or moving an older relative's phone, our home IT help service is a friendly place to start.

Locally

We often hear from people in the villages and hamlets who are unsure whether their line, alarm or card machine will cope. If that is you, ask before the switch rather than after. Our team handles IT support for Kingsbridge homes and businesses, and it is always worth a quick conversation.

Helping older relatives through the change

For many older people, the home phone is the lifeline. It may be the number everyone knows, the way a carer checks in or the connection for a pendant alarm. A change that is trivial for a router-savvy adult can feel alarming when it is not explained.

If you are helping a relative, be there on the day if you can. Check that the phone works for incoming and outgoing calls, that the alarm still reports, and that the router is somewhere sensible, plugged in and not likely to be switched off at the wall by mistake. Write the provider's phone number and the router's reset instructions on a card by the phone.

Make sure they also have a charged mobile phone as a back-up, and that they know how to use it in an emergency. If a relative lives somewhere with poor mobile signal, tell the provider, who should take that into account.