Event Roundup – Digital Landline Switchover: Supporting Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances

techUK hosted a webinar on 2 September 2026 bringing together the telecoms sector, government and local authorities to share early findings from a pilot programme that has been running since the summer to identify and support customers in vulnerable circumstances through the digital landline switchover, and to prepare for the next phase of national engagement.

Speaker at this webinar included:

Presentation: Chris Hockley, Senior Engagement Manager (BT)

Presentation: David Christie, Senior Regulatory Specialist (Virgin Media O2)

Remarks: Stephen Peddie, National Care and Health Improvement Adviser for Digital Technology in Adult Social Care (Partners in Care and Health, a partnership between the LGA and ADASS)

Presentation: Kassandrea Igbenabor, Digital Switchover Project Manager (Richmond and Wandsworth Councils)

Closing Remarks: Cara Maguire, Head of Digital Infrastructure and Information Access, Adult Social Care Digital Policy at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

Frederik van Randwyck, Head of Telecoms Modernisation at techUK, opened the session by setting the stage, with the move from analogue to digital landlines entering its final stretch. With the Openreach PSTN due to close at the end of January 2027, attention has now turned to how the remaining customers in vulnerable circumstances are switched over safely. Since the summer, a small group of Communication Providers and local authorities have been piloting a joint approach to reaching those customers, supported by a new Data Sharing Agreement (DSA). Following a letter sent to local authorities by DCMS, the session shared what the pilots have found so far and answered questions from local authorities considering taking part as the approach moves nationwide.

The Communication Provider perspective

Chris Hockley (BT) and David Christie (Virgin Media O2) set out the status of their networks, with those still on analogue lines being the most complex and most in need of an engineer visit rather than a self-install. The central problem is that they are not responding to book an engineer visit, which matters because a voluntary, engineer-led migration is by far the safest route. The alternatives are a forced migration, which requires someone in the household to reconnect equipment themselves, or ceasing the service altogether. Local authority involvement with communication providers then comes in two deliberately flexible stages: first, a list of non-responding vulnerable customers is shared to match against council records, with any feedback entirely optional; and second, from around mid-October, a much smaller subset where councils are asked to make contact as a more trusted local voice, supported by call scripts, objection handling and training. Both were clear that the new DSA, developed with the LGA, techUK and LOTI, is deliberately close to the existing telecare agreement, covers only a customer's name, address and telephone number, and does not commit a local authority to anything.

The perspectives or local and central government

Stephen Peddie, speaking for the LGA and ADASS, noted that local government representatives were here today because we have an ‘evergreen’ interest in the wellbeing of citizens and particularly those who need most support. He further drew attention to the fact that, as part of this interest, local authorities have been support CPs to reduce the risk to people who are described as a vulnerable person. However, Stephen noted that local authorities were not to acquire liability or responsibility, and that existing duties towards people already receiving care following a Care Act assessment continue exactly as before. He was clear to note that nothing is mandatory, and nothing is mandated by the LGA or DHSC; councils are asked only to sign the DSA, compare the list against their own records, and consider what support they might offer within existing resources and priorities.

Kassandrea Igbenabor then set out how the pilot programme has worked in practice at Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. She highlighted that their first list contained around 200 names against an expected 90, of which roughly 10% were removed immediately as deceased and a further 25% were already known telecare users. Where the council is already trying to reach someone, they will visit the address in person and knock on neighbours' doors, an approach that found someone at home in eight out of ten cases. Her main learnings were that volume changes the model, that data needs the right context to be useful, and that trust with residents is fragile, so the pace should follow the service user even against a January deadline.

Cara Maguire closed the session by linking the pilots to the Department of Health and Social Care's Telecare National Action Plan, which set out that the safety of vulnerable telecare users throughout the switchover is of the utmost importance to government. These pilots, she noted, go further still by covering broader vulnerabilities rather than telecare alone, and with pilots running in council areas of different characteristics, both rural and urban, she expected the findings to be translatable across a wide range of authorities.

Q&A

The session closed with an extended Q&A, where attendees asked about the commitments of the DSA for the council, whether other communication providers would be using the DSA, and who within an authority should receive the data, particularly in two-tier areas. Further questions covered telecare in properties with poor signal or no broadband, backup power during an outage, and communicating with residents who have hearing impairments.

Next steps

A key aim of this webinar was to support local authorities in signing the new DSA, which the pilot authorities have already signed. Speakers emphasised that the process is designed to be as light-touch as possible: Richmond and Wandsworth Councils reported that the longest part was internal legal sign-off, and that once the signed agreement was returned the list arrived within 24 hours. Both providers offered one-to-one conversations through their regional engagement and migration managers, and Richmond and Wandsworth offered to share practical advice with other councils on how they approached the work within existing resources.

To read and sign the DSA, please see here for more information:

BT/EE: https://btesign.na1.adobesign.com/public/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhAYeIaR9WYiO1jXfSAxRHmfcezE5S84SMjuIniRvYU1gD7u_35497nFR_W5PJf1s4A*

VMO2: Please contact: [email protected]

Further information on data sharing is available on the Local Government Association website

For more information on the national digital phone switchover, visit digitalphoneswitchover.com

Any questions about this event, or about the wider techUK telecoms modernisation programme, please contact: [email protected]

Telecoms Programme activities

techUK brings together government, the regulator, telecom companies and stakeholders to help the UK maximise the benefits of adopting advanced communications services. We ensure our members have a clear understanding of market developments, customer requirements, and government priorities. Visit the programme page here.