Petition to delay switching to digital landlines

[#1]

@MisterW I initially read one or two 'briefings' from similar sources, but stopped quite quickly as I realised they were printing information thought up by contributors with little or no real knowledge.

I'm probably lucky in that my CP has been proactively switching their ADSL/FTTC customers onto SoGEA/SoTAP, and keeping us up-to-date, in simple English as to what is happening. I've been switched to SoGEA, but have not lost my phone as the supplied router has phone connectivity, and I understand from a couple of friends on Virgin that they too were being switched also, but as the change has been 'paused' - again - they have been told 'steady as you go' - we'll let you know when we are allowed to restart the process.

I understood, however that CP's were supposed to be the ones informing their customers on what was happening, and giving them advice?

[#2]

Sorry, @jab1 , I don't do Google!  They stole my medical records some years ago (via their DeepMind arm) and sold them to insurers and anyone else that wanted them, without my knowledge, so I routinely block all Google related sites . . .

[#3]

Fair enough - use DuckDuckGo, then - I haven't used them for a while, but they will have some suitable links.

[#4]

I expect the government response will make reference to
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-better-protect-vulnerable-customers-agreed-with-t...

And reiterate
"The upgrade of the UK’s telephone lines is not a government programme and does not result from a government decision or policy, and therefore specific questions about how the upgrade programme might affect individuals should be directed service providers.  "

In other words "not our problem " 😉

[#5]

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@Protech wrote:

In other words "not our problem " 😉

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That's not a fair summary of that article. But we will have to wait and see what the response is.

[#6]

I found this recent (Dec 2023) analysis/comment: Everything you need to know about BT's Digital Voice | AbilityNet

In particular it says:

BT will not be proactively switching customers who fall under any of the below criteria:

• Customers with a healthcare pendant
• Customers who are over 70
• Customers who only use landlines
• Customers with no mobile signal
• Customers who have disclosed any additional needs

BT will delay switching these customers while it engages with stakeholder groups to share more about its new solutions, shape the ones it's building, and better understand the support available to help customers.

[#7]

Interesting in there

"We understand that for many, particularly those with additional needs, the landline is a lifeline. We want to be sure everyone remains connected. We've been working to make battery back-up units available to those that need them. "

I wonder if anyone's told AbilityNet that battery backup in the house is useless when the cabinet goes down after around 30 mins!!

[#8]

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@MisterW wrote:

I wonder if anyone's told AbilityNet that battery backup in the house is useless when the cabinet goes down after around 30 mins!!

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I doubt it.  The myth that everyone's broadband will just stay working when there's a power cut seems to be a strong one.  I spoke with the OR chap working on our cabinet some time ago now and asked about the battery back up.  He showed me the battery, looked like a Hawker Odyssey, tucked away at the base of the main cabinet (he was busy installing an add-on cabinet on the side). 

Good as Odyssey batteries are, they do have the exact same failings that all lead acid batteries suffer from, poor cold weather performance and a limited life.  No idea how often OR change the cabinet batteries, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's not that often.  I was a bit surprised to find that there doesn't seem to be any regulation requiring cabinet backup power to stay up for a minimum period of time.  OR waffle about the backup lasting up to so many hours, but the reality here is that 30 to 40 minutes is it, our cabinet always falls over within 45 minutes of the power going off.  Might be because the cabinet has an add-on extender cabinet with extra stuff is, as that add-on looked to be sharing the same backup battery as the main cabinet.

[#9]

@JSHarris

“Providers will be required to work to provide back-up solutions that go beyond regulator Ofcom’s minimum of one hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services in the event of a power outage. "

From the document in my previous post.
This states that there is an OFCOM requirement for a minimum of 1hr power backup.
That happens to be the spec for BTs BBUs
I also have seen a USO document that requires Phone box's to have a 3hr minimum power backup.
So if you're lucky enough to have a phonebox connected to your green cabinet it should stay powered for 3hrs.

[#10]

So if you're lucky enough to have a phonebox connected to your green cabinet it should stay powered for 3hrs.

What's one of those?

[#11]

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@Protech wrote:

“Providers will be required to work to provide back-up solutions that go beyond regulator Ofcom’s minimum of one hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services in the event of a power outage. "

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Note the careful choice of words, though.  In our case the cabinet falls over about 30 to 40 minutes into a power cut, every time there is one.  It's never stayed up for as long as an hour.

The Ofcom "minimum" of one hour doesn't have the force of law, AFAIK, either, and "work to provide" is a long way from "guarantee to provide" which is what's really needed.

I'd also argue that 1 hour is woefully inadequate.  Last weeks power outage was a short one for this area, only a bit over 4 hours.  Not at all unusual for winter cuts here to last eight to 12 hours, sometimes longer.  At the moment the landline phone stays up for a long time (no idea how long but I know it's over two days).

[#12]

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@JSHarris wrote:
Not at all unusual for winter cuts here to last eight to 12 hours, sometimes longer.  At the moment the landline phone stays up for a long time (no idea how long but I know it's over two days).

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As long as the exchange diesel generator has fuel, it'll keep going.

[#13]

What gets me is that it was announced in 2017 that the PSTN would be switched off at the end of 2025. Now 7 years after the announcement organisations and individuals are acting all surprised and complaining that there’s insufficient time to organise the changeover.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

[#14]

@Baldrick1  - Exactly!!

[#15]

I think the problem is that any announcement made back then just wasn't given a great deal of widespread publicity.  It may have appeared buried in the depths of a few technical publications but it wasn't widely reported, together with its wider ramifications, until recently, and even then it's still not common knowledge.

I tend to stay on top of things fairly well, but I only heard about the PSTN switch off a few months ago.  That's despite the fact that I tend to read the technology sections of several online news outlets.  When I mentioned it to a neighbour a few months ago he also hadn't heard about it, and when word got around locally it was clear that no one else knew about it either.  Admittedly this is a small rural community, where farming is the dominant employer, but I still think this highlights a more general lack of awareness.

There's a big contrast between the way this massive change to a key public service has been advertised and the way other massive changes to public services have been advertised, like the switch to digital TV for example.  We had endless TV adverts, newspaper ads, posters, mail shots etc telling us about the TV digital switchover.  The only place I've read anything about the PSTN switch off has been this forum and associated links members have posted.