Writing on BT’s blog, Lucy Baker, all-IP director, BT Consumer, said, “Over the past week, we’ve been informed about incidents involving telecare users from another communications provider who had been switched to a digital landline.
“In light of this news, the telecoms industry, including BT, has agreed that the right thing to do is to temporarily pause all non-voluntary, managed migrations to a digital landline where there is any risk that a customer's telecare service will not continue to work.”
Baker added that BT we will only switch telecare users to Digital Voice where BT, the telecare provider or the customer can confirm their service is compatible and functions using a digital landline.
BT is also offering these customers “free resilience solutions such as battery back-up units and hybrid phones”.
The company is also urging all local authorities and telecare providers to share telecare user data so it can cross-reference this against its own database.