Digital Landline Switchover: Supporting Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances

2pm – 3.30pm 2 September 2026 Online

The telecoms industry's multi-year programme to move landline phone services from the old analogue network to digital connections is nearing completion (also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration, or Digital Phone Switchover). While most customers' lines have been successfully migrated, Communication Providers are now focused on reaching those who have not responded to requests to upgrade, particularly customers in vulnerable circumstances who disproportionately rely on their landline. In advance of Openreach's January 2027 deadline to close the PSTN, Communication Providers have been working hard to identify and migrate these remaining customers safely.

Since July 2026, Communication Providers have been working with a few select local authorities to pilot ways of identifying and migrating these customers, to prevent the potential risk of disconnection in 2027. Following this pilot programme, Communication Providers now intend to expand the programme nationwide, working with local authorities wherever customers in potentially vulnerable circumstances are still relying on their landline.

A key element of the pilot programme has been the creation of a new Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) between Communication Providers and Local Authorities, described below. This has been central to sharing information on customers who may be in vulnerable circumstances, enabling Local Authorities to assess the risk to individuals in their area and work with Communication Providers on how best to engage and support these customers through migration.

With the support of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), techUK is now bringing together the telecoms sector, government and local authorities to share the results of this pilot and prepare for the next phase of national engagement.

In this webinar you will hear directly from Communication Providers and Local Authorities, as well as the Local Government Authority (LGA), who will explain how collaboration with local authorities has supported these customers to migrate safely onto digital connections.

This event will cover the challenges of identifying and reaching customers in vulnerable circumstances, how Communication Providers and Local Authorities have worked together to address them, and the lessons learned for continuing this work effectively. We will then set aside time for an extended Q&A, giving attendees the chance to put their questions to those on the call.

This event will be held as an online webinar, to reach as wide an audience of local authorities as possible ahead of the next phase of national rollout.

Who should attend

This is a free-to-attend event for anyone interested in the digital switchover of landlines/PSTN switch-off, with a particular focus for those in the public sector, health and social care organisations, and techUK members.

Agenda

More details on the final agenda will be available in the coming weeks.

Perspectives on the challenges of identifying and reaching customers in vulnerable circumstances:

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)

Q&A

Joined by representatives from across the telecoms industry and local government, on hand to answer your questions, including BT/EE, VMO2, Openreach, Sky, VodafoneThree, and TalkTalk.

Expediting Local Authority Data Sharing

A key aim of this webinar is to support Local Authorities in signing the new Data Sharing Agreement (DSA), which the Local Authorities involved in the pilots have already signed. This DSA allows Communication Providers to share details of customers in vulnerable circumstances who have not yet migrated their landlines with their local authority that signs.

Please find the DSAs with the Communication Providers available for e-signature at the following locations:

Please find further information on data sharing on the Local Government Association (LGA) website here.

As part of registering for this webinar, attendees agree to being contacted and sent the DSA ahead of the session. You're welcome to sign the DSA at any point before the webinar, and/or join us on the day to find out more about the programme and ask any questions before signing.

For more information on the national digital phone switchover, please visit the digital phone switchover website at: https://digitalphoneswitchover.com/

For more information on this event, please contact the team below.

Frederik van Randwyck

Head of Telecoms Modernisation, techUK

Freddy heads up the Telecoms Modernisation Programme, which is housed adjacent to the Digital Connectivity Forum (DCF) and techUK's telecoms function. Initially set up by Communications Providers and network operators as the Digital Phone Switchover function, the programme aims to identify where common challenges to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) can be best resolved through a collaborative approach - whether through enhanced communications, consistent messaging, or increased awareness. Since then, the programme has broadened its scope to identify and resolve common industry challenges around the migration away from legacy networks, including analogue copper networks and 2G. Prior to this appointment, Freddy worked as a Senior Policy Advisor in Telecoms Markets at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), where he led stakeholder engagement and business-to-business (B2B) connectivity market policy. Freddy also worked as a DSIT Policy Advisor for Digital Markets, leading international engagement during the Parliamentary passage of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act.
Freddy has a background in UK and EU law and public policy, having worked as an EU Public Affairs consultant at FleishmanHillard in Brussels, focusing on digital and financial services policy. He holds an LLM in European Law from Leiden University, a Diploma (GDL) in English Law from the City Law School, and a BA in Archaeology from the University of York.