Telecare alarm users to be better protected as government reaches agreement with telecoms industry
The UK Government has reached a “landmark” agreement with the telecoms industry that is designed to better protect personal alarm users during the switch from analogue to digital landlines.
This will include a new requirement for companies to offer an engineer visit to vulnerable customers, who will personally test the vital alarm and ensure it continues to work once a household has moved on the digital network.
According to the government, almost two million people in the UK use personal alarms.
Following some incidents last year, Telecoms Minister Chris Bryant called on telecoms companies to complete a strict checklist of safeguards before transferring customers from old analogue phone lines onto a digital network, reducing the risk of them being disconnected during the migration.
In a roundtable at techUK’s London headquarters, which was attended by representatives from the sector including BT, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Sky, the minister also urged companies to extend the power of battery back-up solutions beyond the existing one-hour minimum, maximising their resilience as far as possible and access to emergency services in the event of a power outage.
UK Telecoms Minister Chris Bryant said: “Old fashioned copper wire technology is coming to an end. If we want to stay in touch with the rest of the world we need a complete overhaul of our digital infrastructure.
“While this migration is necessary, it is vital the industry gets it right and makes sure the most vulnerable are protected.
“This has kept me up at night and a priority that I have put at the forefront of my work since stepping into office. I am pleased telecoms companies, central government, and local authorities are working in lockstep to achieve customer safety.”
During the roundtable, telecoms providers agreed that non-voluntary upgrades would start on a smaller scale before rolling out more widely, reducing accidental loss of phone services for those most likely to come to harm if their telephone line is discontinued.
The Telecoms Minister also laid out the actions other stakeholders, such as telecare companies, need to take to safeguard telecare users through the digital phone switchover. This includes ensuring that no telecare user will be migrated to digital landline services without the communication provider, the customer, or the telecare service provider confirming that the user has a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place. These actions will be outlined in the first Telecare National Action Plan, which the government is due to publish before the end of the year.
Theo Blackwell MBE, Chief Digital Officer for London, commented: “This is a very welcome step from government to ensure the safety of vulnerable residents. For some time local authorities have warned that the hands-off telecommunications industry approach under-estimated the complexity, costs and risks involved in identifying, replacing and testing hundreds of thousands of life-saving devices in peoples’ homes in London and across the country.
“We must now continue to work together to ensure all industry providers work in a consistent way and lessons can be learned so future infrastructure modernisations can be worked on collaboratively, as we build a fairer and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”
In addition to measures laid out with phone network providers, Telecoms Minister Bryant also agreed the first charter with telecoms companies providing services to of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), such as the water and energy industries, whose services may also be affected by the switchover. This includes an escalation mechanism to allow concerns relating to the switchover to be raised with central government, ensuring continued safe provision of these services.