Exclusive Offer: BT’s Digital Phone Calls Exclusively Available for New Customers

BT, the leading telecoms company, is making a significant move in the implementation of its Digital Voice program by exclusively offering digital phone calls to new customers. The company will no longer provide old phone lines to new customers, instead transitioning them to digital phone systems.

Digital Voice requires households to switch from traditional handsets to new digital devices. These devices must be connected to an electricity supply and rely on a broadband connection for functionality.

BT plans to target London residents with this new technology, requiring them to plug digital adapters or new handsets into internet sockets and an electricity supply to make phone calls.

All change: Digital Voice will see households switched over from traditional handsets to new digital ones

BT aims to transition at least ten million homes to the new digital system within the next two years. The government has set a target of 29 million homes to go digital in total as part of its plan to replace old copper phone lines with internet-based calls using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology.

While most users will not experience a change in sound quality, it has been noted that the new phone lines will not work during a power cut, potentially leaving vulnerable households without the ability to make emergency calls to 999. Additionally, users who wear health pendants at home may find that their devices are no longer compatible with the new technology, and alarm systems linked to emergency service phone lines may also cease to function.

BT had to halt its initial rollout plans last year after The Mail on Sunday revealed the potential dangers the new technology poses to individuals in isolated areas during power outages. As a result, the company has consulted with a “digital voice advisory group” and decided not to target individuals over the age of 70 or those who wear health pendants for at least one year.