WIREDGOV

Across the UK, the digital landline switchover is no longer a distant policy shift; it is beginning to shape the conversations people are having with neighbours, carers, housing teams, and community organisations.

Residents want to understand what the change will mean in the moments that matter – whether their phone will still work, how to check a pendant alarm, and what to do if they do not use broadband. Our recent Connected Together webinar, delivered in partnership with BT, brought these concerns into focus and showed how strongly councils, housing providers, and community groups are looking for reliable messaging they can share with clarity and confidence.

To support that work, everyone can now submit a request for a printed leaflet prepared by the BT Digital Voice team. It sets out the essentials in a format suited to real conversations – the pause at a doorway, the chat over a cup of tea, the few minutes with a resident who prefers information they can hold rather than look up online. BT has also developed the Connected Together Conversation Starter Pack, designed to help organisations begin practical, informed discussions within their communities.

The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) has created a complementary factsheet to sit alongside this work. It offers clear, steady messaging about what is changing, who may be most affected, and the simple checks households can begin making now. It reinforces BT’s guidance and gives organisations a dependable reference point for the conversations already underway across the country.

“The switchover will only work well if the right information reaches the right people early,” said Elizabeth Anderson, CEO, Digital Poverty Alliance. “When organisations can share clear guidance with the communities they know best, the transition becomes not just manageable, but genuinely safe.”

Submit your request here