On 29 March 2022 BT issued a press release stating that the programme of conversion to VoIP would be paused.
The following extracts from the press release explain BT's position:
"We also recognise we have more work to do on getting better back-up solutions in place for when things disrupt the service like storms and power cuts."
"So, we are pausing all further Digital Voice switch-overs for customers
who don’t want to move to the new technology straight away."
"This will be a pause to part of the programme. We will aim to re-start once we have key solutions in place to provide our customers with more resilient connectivity. These include:
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Hybrid phones that can switch to a mobile network and have an in-built, long-lasting battery.
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The option of longer-lasting battery back-up units for customers who want or need them.
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Providing in-home ‘mobile landlines’ for people without broadband.
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Addressing so-called mobile ‘not-spots’, with continued investment in the Shared Rural Network. We’ve recently announced a further 1,500 locations that will get better coverage as a result.
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Launching an awareness campaign so that our customers better understand the need to switch.
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Continuing to proactively engage the related industries - like healthcare pendants and burglar alarm providers to ensure our most vulnerable customers continue to get the service they need.
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And we’re continuing to work on other things, too, including advancements to scam-call shielding and fraud reduction tools, that we know are becoming ever more important to our users of landlines.
There are some exceptions
There are some customers for whom our Digital Voice rollout will continue. This includes those using our Fibre Voice Access broadband package, which means they receive voice services over their fibre broadband. This is a legacy product which needs to be upgraded to Digital Voice.
We will also continue our rollout for customers in Salisbury and Mildenhall, where Openreach has been working closely with BT and other providers to trial the retirement and withdrawal of old, analogue landline technology. It’s important we continue this work so that we learn how to upgrade customers in the smoothest, most efficient way.
And what about our Enterprise customers? They will be upgraded to a different, business-grade IP voice product so are not affected by this temporary pause. BT’s Enterprise business will begin to proactively contact customers in phases over the coming months to advise on timescales and process for upgrading to new Digital Voice and broadband products."
Full text of the press release can be found here.
