Campaigners deliver 115,000-strong petition to Keir Starmer in last-ditch bid to stop rollout of digital landlines over concerns for vulnerable people

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:02, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 15:08, 16 June 2026 Campaigners are set to deliver a 115,000-strong petition to Sir Keir Starmer in a last-ditch bid to stop the forced rollout of digital landlines over concerns for vulnerable people. Telecoms firms such as BT and Virgin have been rolling out new internet-based phone services for millions of households in the UK as the traditional copper-based wires become increasingly unreliable and liable to fault with age. But there are longstanding concerns over fatal blackouts in the new digital service, which can leave elderly and vulnerable people isolated and without access to a phone in the case of an emergency. Telecoms giants were already forced to scrap an initial timeline of changing every UK household by the summer of 2024 following 'serious incidents' in which life-saving telecare alarms stopped working. Two Virgin Media O2 customers were reported to have died within days of their devices failing after their analogue landline was cut off. The exact cause of the failures was not specified. The alarms, generally worn on the person, are designed to automatically call for emergency help if needed, but switchovers left many not functioning, and they also cannot be relied on in the case of a blackout or internet outage. Today Silver Voices is calling for the current switchover deadline of January 2027 to be extended to 2030, warning that thousands of households with vital medical alarms have still not been contacted about the change. A recent poll found that almost 60 per cent of 4,300 people over 50 are still not aware that landline services are changing. The Government has previously said transition to the digital system is vital as copper wires are now increasingly unreliable.  Dennis Reed, CEO of Silver Voices, is hand-delivering a petition with more than 115,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street, in a 'last chance' move to put pressure on the Government. It demands an end to the forced migrations onto the new service. Dennis Reed, CEO of Silver Voices, is today hand-delivering a petition with more than 115,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street, in a 'last chance' move to put pressure on the Government  There are longstanding concerns over fatal blackouts in the new digital service, which can leave elderly and vulnerable people isolated and without access to a phone in the case of an emergency  Mr Reed told the Daily Mail he is 'optimistic' that the petition will get the attention of the Prime Minister and force ministers to 'take this seriously'. 'It's [the switchover] been botched. We want it to be paused again to prevent more serious incidents,' he said. 'There are no answers really to our questions on health and safety. At the end of the day in a power cut digital voice will not work. That's the basic problem that they can't seem to get around.' Unlike traditional analogue-wired landlines, digital services do not continue to function in the case of a blackout, internet outage or other fault. After concerns were raised, then-minister Conservative Michelle Donelan met with the major firms and they agreed to supply vulnerable customers with contingency measures, including battery powered phones for emergencies. But experts have said that these devices, which typically only have a few hours of battery power, are not sufficient.  Mr Reed said: 'Battery backup still is not an answer when there is a power cut lasting for days, like there has been in recent winters. 'That is bound to, as it has before, lead to fatalities. 'The telecoms firms know very well they have not reached everyone with a personal alarm system. Unless they reach those people and actually contact them, they are not going to know they are [potentially] switching off these alarms.' He added in a statement: 'This is Labour's last chance to reel the telecom giants back in before the potential disaster of a premature switch off.  'As things stand, hundreds of thousands of vulnerable customers in areas without a reliable mobile signal will be left without any means of contacting emergency services if there is an extended power cut.  'Commercial considerations are driving the industry to meet a rushed switch off timetable, before comprehensive safety measures are in place.  'The Government ambition is to have a reliable mobile signal in all areas by 2030, so it makes sense for the landlines timetable to be synchronized with that.  'If the Government ignores our last-ditch plea, then fatalities will inevitably follow, and politicians will share responsibility with the telecoms companies for believing their false promises that all vulnerable individuals will be protected'. Telecare devices, worn by 1.8 million people in the UK, are not the only system facing outage amid the switchover - any technology linked to the landline could encounter problems. This includes home alarm systems which automatically call police when an intruder is detected.  Telecoms firms have said they are taking steps to ensure vulnerable people are contacted ahead of forced switchovers, but that it is impossible to guarantee every vulnerable person will be reached. This is partly down to a lack of register or any database which adequately contains these people's identities and contact information. They have said that when a person, or family member, informs them they are vulnerable, that extra measures are put in place. This often includes not turning off a person's traditional landline connection until any telecare alarms have been tested on the new system and have been found to be functioning.  Some 3.6 million households still had wire-based landlines in February, it is understood. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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