The Digital Switchover in Cambridge: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm

Analogue phone lines are retired on 31 January 2027 and every landline in Cambridge becomes digital. If a relative in Chesterton, Cherry Hinton or Trumpington has a pendant alarm plugged into the phone socket, it may stop working. Cambridge has two councils involved, and one of them has already stopped taking new alarm referrals.

What is changing in Cambridge, and when?

Openreach is retiring the analogue telephone network by 31 January 2027, and every home line from Arbury to Newnham moves onto a digital service carried over broadband. Cambridgeshire County Council explains it on its own website in plain terms: in the UK, the analogue telephone system that we have used for many years is being gradually replaced with a modern digital system, and the digital upgrade is planned to be completed by 31 January 2027.

In practice the handset moves from the wall socket to the broadband router and the number stays the same. Equipment designed to talk down an analogue line is the part that does not carry over automatically, and a personal alarm is exactly that sort of equipment.

Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?

Only if it is digital ready or works over the mobile network. Analogue alarms signal using audio tones down a copper line, which a digital line does not always carry intact. The Telecare National Action Plan from DHSC and DSIT commits that no telecare user should be moved to a digital landline until someone has confirmed a compatible and functioning telecare solution is in place. Connecting Cambridgeshire, the county's digital programme, singles out users of telecare and personal alarm systems, such as fall monitors or lifelines, as people who need to check.

Power cuts are the second issue. A digital landline runs off the broadband router, so it stops when the electricity does. 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 depend on the landline for 999 calls. That protects emergency calls rather than the alarm.

How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?

1. Follow the cable. A thin lead into a white phone socket means analogue and at risk. A lead into the broadband router means it has been converted. A power lead alone usually means a mobile unit.
2. Work out who supplied it. In Cambridge this could be the city council, the county's telecare team, or a private company. Look for a name and number on the base unit.
3. Make a test call. Press the button, say plainly that it is a test, and confirm the operator hears you and has the right address on file.

What about alarms provided by Cambridge City Council?

This is the detail that catches Cambridge families out. Cambridge City Council has historically run a Community Alarm and Lifeline Service, and its own page now states that it is not currently taking any new referrals for that service. Anyone wanting a new alarm is directed instead to Cambridgeshire County Council on 01480 378160. Existing city council charges are still published, at £44.46 per quarter for the alarm, roughly £3.42 a week.

The county council's service is Technology Enabled Care Services, known as TECS. It can be contacted on 01480 378 160 or TECS@cambridgeshire.gov.uk between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, and referrals can be made through an online form. Unlike most councils, the county has published switchover information on that same page, giving the 31 January 2027 date and pointing residents to Connecting Cambridgeshire for more detail.

So a Cambridge household may have an alarm from the city council that is no longer accepting new customers, a newer one from county TECS, or a private unit. Those three are handled by different teams. Work out which one you have before you start ringing round, because the wrong number will cost you weeks you do not have.

What should Cambridge residents do now?

Ring the landline provider and say that a personal alarm is in use at the address. That is the step that triggers the national protections before an engineer visits.

Then identify who monitors the alarm and ask them the direct question: is this unit digital ready. If it is a city council alarm and nobody can give you a clear answer, ring county TECS on 01480 378160. If the unit plugs into the phone socket and no one will confirm it is safe, plan a replacement. A mobile connected alarm avoids the landline entirely, which suits the older terraces of Romsey and Petersfield as much as a village house outside the city. Any new device should be on 4G, since 3G has already been switched off.

Frequently asked questions

Where to start: identify who monitors the alarm, ring your phone provider, then plan a digital ready replacement if needed. See our SOS pendant alarms in Cambridge page, our digital switchover guide, or read what happens if a telecare alarm stops working. The national 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.