The Digital Switchover in Blackburn: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm
Analogue phone lines across Blackburn and Darwen are being switched off on 31 January 2027. Every landline in the borough becomes digital. If someone you care about wears a pendant alarm that plugs into the phone socket, it may lose the ability to call for help, and it is worth checking now rather than in January.
Key facts
- The analogue phone network (PSTN) is retired on 31 January 2027.
- The borough is covered by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, a unitary authority separate from Lancashire County Council.
- Affected postcodes include BB1 and BB2 across Blackburn and BB3 across Darwen.
- The council runs a telecare service, but access is through the Adult Social Care team rather than a separate alarm hotline.
What is changing in Blackburn, and when?
Openreach is retiring the analogue telephone network by 31 January 2027. From that point every home line in Blackburn, Darwen, Mill Hill, Livesey, Wilpshire and Great Harwood carries calls digitally over broadband rather than over the old copper pair. The programme is run by the telecoms industry, not by the council, so Blackburn with Darwen cannot pause it locally. Ofcom and government do have formal roles in how customers are protected during the migration, which is why the rules below exist.
In practice the handset moves from the wall socket to the broadband router and phone numbers stay the same. What does not automatically carry over is equipment designed to talk down an analogue line, and a personal alarm is exactly that.
Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?
Only if it is digital ready or connects by mobile. Analogue alarms signal using audio tones down copper, and a digital line does not reliably carry them. Around 2 million people in the UK use telecare, according to the Telecare National Action Plan published by DHSC and DSIT, and that plan commits that no telecare user should be moved to a digital landline until someone has confirmed a compatible and working solution is in place. The catch is that the phone company has to know an alarm exists.
Power is the second problem. A digital landline depends on mains electricity at the property, so when the power goes off in Darwen the router goes with it. Ofcom requires providers to give at least one hour of access to emergency organisations during a power cut, and to offer battery backup free of charge to customers who rely on the landline for 999 calls. That obligation covers emergency calls, not telecare devices.
How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?
- Follow the wires. A thin cable from the alarm into a white phone socket means an analogue unit at risk. A cable into the broadband router means it has already moved. A power lead and nothing else usually means a mobile unit.
- Ask who is on the other end. If a social worker arranged the alarm, ring Adult Social Care. If it came from a shop or a charity, look for a sticker with a company name and ring that.
- Make a test call. Press the button, say clearly that it is a test, and check the operator can hear you and knows who you are.
What about alarms provided by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council?
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council does run a telecare service, described on its own website under the heading home monitoring and personal alarms. It is worth being precise: the council does not market it under a separate brand name the way Bradford uses Safe and Sound or Blackpool uses Vitaline. It is simply called telecare, and it sits inside adult social care.
That shapes how you get it. The council's adult social care information states that the Adult Social Care team is the first point of contact for all referrals and general enquiries, reachable on 01254 587547 from 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Friday. A conversation follows, then a home visit. Charging is not a flat published fee either: the council says the contribution asked of you depends on what services you receive and how much you can afford to pay, assessed financially.
We could not find anything published by Blackburn with Darwen setting out its plans for moving telecare from analogue to digital, or a timetable for replacing equipment. That is worth saying plainly rather than guessing. If a council supplied alarm is in the house, the Adult Social Care team on 01254 587547 is the right first call, and the question to ask is simple: is this unit digital ready, and if not, when will it be changed.
What should Blackburn residents do now?
Ring the landline provider and tell them somebody in the house uses a personal alarm. It takes two minutes and it is what triggers the protections in the national plan.
Then sort out the alarm. If it plugs into the phone socket, assume it needs replacing. A mobile connected alarm removes the landline from the equation, which suits terraced housing in Mill Hill or Audley where broadband varies house to house. Since 3G has already been switched off, any new device should run on 4G.
The single most important point for Blackburn
There is no council alarm hotline to ring in Blackburn with Darwen. Telecare sits inside adult social care and starts with a referral on 01254 587547. If you are waiting for a letter from an alarm company that does not exist, you will still be waiting in February 2027. Check the equipment yourself.
Unsure whether an alarm in Blackburn is at risk?
Our UK monitoring centre in Southport answers alarm calls 24 hours a day, and 99.6% of alarm calls are answered in under 60 seconds. We are happy to explain what to look for, with no obligation.
Telephone 01704 332840 | info@holdengrange.com
Book a free call with HannahFrequently asked questions
The council does not use a separate brand name. Its website covers home monitoring and personal alarms under the heading telecare, within adult social care. Referrals go through the Adult Social Care team on 01254 587547, which is the number to ring about an existing council alarm.
Not that we can find. Blackburn with Darwen has no public page explaining how it will move telecare equipment from analogue to digital, or when. Some other councils have published one. Until that changes, ask Adult Social Care directly about your own equipment.
There is a contribution rather than a fixed price. The council says the amount depends on which services you receive and how much you can afford, following a financial assessment. An independent alarm is priced openly instead, which some families find simpler to arrange.
Yes. Our monitoring centre is in Southport and serves the whole UK, so BB1, BB2 and BB3 are all covered, along with Great Harwood, Rishton, Wilpshire and Feniscowles. Alarms are posted out and set up at home, with no waiting list.
Where to start: check the alarm, ring the phone provider, then plan a digital ready replacement. See our SOS pendant alarms in Blackburn page, our digital switchover guide, or read whether you need wifi or a landline for a personal alarm. The timetable is published by Openreach. Call our UK team on 01704 332840.
Holden Grange is a UK telecare provider based in Southport, a TSA member and certified under the TEC Quality Standards Framework. Our alarm receiving centre is UK based and operates 24 hours a day.