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Hold the line, please: BT digital phone service comes to London

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BT has announced plans to roll out its controversial replacement phone service, called Digital Voice, across Greater London during November and December, with a series of public information events planned for Croydon, Sutton, Bromley and Merton.

The events are intended to familiarise Londoners with its new voice-over-internet system which came in for widespread criticism last year when customers were unable to make 999 calls while trapped by storm conditions.

Digital Voice, a replacement for old-style, traditional phone lines, has already been introduced in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, Northern Ireland and the North West.

“An industry-wide shift from analogue to digital landlines will see BT and many other telecoms operators in the UK provide services over a broadband line, similar to work taking place in many other countries around the world,” BT said in announcing the capital-wide roll-out.

“This once-in-a-generation upgrade to future-proof the UK’s landlines is essential and will replace technology that is fast becoming obsolete,” BT said.

“The landline is here to stay, and for the majority of customers making the switch simply involves plugging your phone into a broadband router instead of into a wall-mounted phone socket, bringing new benefits such as advanced spam call blocking.”

BT, among other telecoms companies, has pledged to equip all homes with digital voice-over-internet phones by 2025.

But BT was forced to halt its roll-out of Digital Voice last year following a backlash from customers.

The rollout sees copper landlines replaced by fibre-optic cables, an upgrade that has been going on across Croydon and south London over the past decade.

When Storms Arwen and Eunice hit parts of rural, northern England last year, customers were unable to call 999 when their power went out as a result of storms cutting off their internet access.

BT was forced to issue apologies, saying it had “underestimated the disruptive impact this upgrade would have”, and that they rolled the technology out “too early”.

“We got this part of our programme wrong and for that, we’re sorry,” said Mark Allera, BT’s chief executive of consumer brands.

Now, BT is bringing forward the service in London. In an announcement issued yesterday, BT said, “Customers in Greater London will be contacted at least four weeks in advance before making the switch, to ensure they are ready to move to Digital Voice.

“For almost all customers, Digital Voice will have no impact on how they use their home phone. They’ll still have the same service, and price plan and bills will stay the same. In addition, more than 99% of phone handsets work with Digital Voice and for those that won’t, BT has a range of handsets that customers can order.

“For almost everyone, moving to Digital Voice will be a simple and free transition with no home installation work required. If you feel you need additional support with the transition or you think you are vulnerable, please do tell us. We will be with you every step of the way.”

BT says that it will not be switching anyone who falls under the below criteria, where it has this information available:

“Customers who fall into any of these categories should contact BT to ensure their data is up to date,” the company says.

Crossed wires: many people’s home phones are compatible with the new internet-based system

Customers over the age of 70 are not initially being proactively switched to Digital Voice. However, since July 2023, BT has been trialling switching customers between 70 to 74 who live in urban areas and are ready to make the switch, that is,  they have the latest broadband hub and are not frequent landline users.

“These trials have gone well to date, with 98% of customers choosing to make the switch,” BT claims.

Upcoming engagement activities in Greater London include:

Public meetings: BT is staging a series of “townhall” meetings this month and in early December “to address customer questions on the ground”.

Customers will be able to speak to BT advisors, test Digital Voice products as well as take part in digital skills training.

One of the townhall meetings is being held in Addiscombe on December 5, at St Mildreds Church, 30 Bingham Road, Croydon, CR0 7EB

Pop-up Events: BT says that it will tour every borough in November and December to “ensure customers across Greater London and surrounding areas can speak to BT staff about the switch and try out the new technology for themselves”.

Among the confirmed dates and locations are:

November 7-8 – Bexley: Broadway Shopping Centre, Broadway, Bexleyheath, DA6 7JN
November 9-10 – Sutton: Dobbies Garden Centre, Woodcote Green, 4a Woodmansterne Lane, Wallington, SM6 0SU
November 21-22 – Bromley: 162 High Street, Bromley, BR1 1HE
November 23-24 – Reigate: Woodhatch Community Centre, Whitebeam Drive, Reigate, RH2 7LS
November 25-26 – Epsom: Tadworth Community Centre, Preston Manor Road, Epsom, Tadworth, KT20 5FB
November 29-30 – Merton: South Mitcham Community Association, Cobham Court, Haslemere Avenue, Mitcham, CR4 3PR

Full information of dates and which boroughs, towns and cities will be hosting BT events will be available on the Digital Voice website: www.bt.com/digital-voice.


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