The Digital Switchover in Coventry: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm
The analogue telephone network is being switched off on 31 January 2027. For Coventry households, the important question is whether the personal alarm in the house plugs into a phone socket, because those alarms can lose the ability to call for help. Coventry City Council is one of the few councils that has published advice on this.
Key facts
- The analogue phone network (PSTN) closes on 31 January 2027, around six months from now.
- Coventry City Council runs the city's telecare service and has published a page for residents on the national digital voice switchover.
- Coventry postcodes are CV1 to CV6, with CV7 covering Meriden and Balsall Common and CV8 covering Kenilworth.
- The council's switchover page still quotes the original December 2025 deadline, so read it alongside the current date.
What is changing in Coventry, and when?
Traditional landlines across the city are being converted to digital calls carried over broadband, and the old network is retired on 31 January 2027. The change is driven by the telephone industry. Openreach is retiring the copper network, and each provider is migrating its own customers.
The original deadline was 31 December 2025. It was put back so that vulnerable customers could be given better protection, and Openreach has since said there will be no cliff edge on 1 February 2027, with any remaining lines moved to alternative arrangements.
In Earlsdon, Foleshill, Cheylesmore or Tile Hill the practical change is usually a router and a phone plugged into it. The problem lies with devices that share the line silently, and in thousands of Coventry homes that device is an alarm pendant's base unit.
Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?
It comes down to how the alarm reaches the monitoring centre. Units with a mobile SIM inside are unaffected. Units that dial out through a telephone socket are the ones in question, and the failure mode is deceptive: power light on, pendant button clicking, nothing actually reaching anybody.
Roughly two million people in the UK use telecare, according to the Telecare National Action Plan from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It commits that no telecare user will be migrated to a digital landline without the communications provider, the customer or the telecare provider confirming that a compatible and functioning solution is in place. That safeguard needs someone to know the alarm exists, which is why the phone call to your provider matters.
How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?
- Look behind the base unit. Two cables usually leave it. One is mains power. If the second one ends in a telephone socket, the alarm depends on the line.
- Check the phone. Handset in a wall socket means the line is still analogue. Handset in the back of the broadband router means the line has already been switched, and the alarm should be tested now rather than later.
- Find the supplier's name. It is usually printed underneath. In Coventry it may say the council's telecare service, a housing provider, or a private company. Ring whoever it names and ask plainly whether the unit is digital ready.
Our guide to digital ready SOS devices explains what a modern replacement looks like.
What about alarms provided by Coventry City Council?
Coventry City Council runs its own telecare service, described on its telecare pages as a more advanced type of community alarm with a wide range of devices, covering falls, fire, flood, carbon monoxide and someone leaving home unexpectedly. Council material also carries the name Coventry Telecareline. A social worker or health professional can refer you, or you can complete a referral form yourself. The team is on 024 7697 8933 or telecare@coventry.gov.uk.
Coventry is better than most councils on switchover information. It has published a page on the national digital voice switchover which warns telecare customers that the change will affect not only the landline but that there could be an impact on the connection to their telecare equipment. It also states that Coventry City Council Adult Social Care and the Telecare Service will continue to work with telecommunications providers during the digital switch to ensure their customers residing in Coventry are supported appropriately.
One caveat, worth stating honestly: that page still refers to the original December 2025 date. The commitment stands, but the timeline has not been refreshed, so treat 31 January 2027 as the date that counts.
What should Coventry residents do now?
Ring your phone provider and say there is a telecare alarm at the property that somebody relies on. Ask them to note it on the account. That is what activates the national protections.
Then consider power cuts. Ofcom requires providers to offer at least one hour of access to emergency organisations when the power fails, and to supply a battery backup unit free of charge to customers who depend on the landline to call 999. That unit comes from the telephone company. It protects your route to the emergency services rather than the alarm itself, a distinction the national plan states plainly.
The most useful thing a Coventry family can do
If the alarm came from the council, contact the telecare team on 024 7697 8933 and ask one specific question: is this particular unit digital ready, and if not, when will it be replaced. The council has publicly committed to supporting its Coventry customers through the switch, so it is entirely reasonable to ask what that means for one address.
Check your alarm with a UK monitoring team
Holden Grange provides digital ready personal alarms across the UK, monitored from our own alarm receiving centre in Southport, where 99.6% of alarm calls are answered in under 60 seconds.
Telephone 01704 332840 | info@holdengrange.com
Book a free call with HannahFrequently asked questions
Yes. It has a page on the national digital voice switchover which tells telecare customers the change could affect the connection to their equipment, and commits adult social care and the telecare service to working with telecoms providers. Note that the page still quotes the older December 2025 date.
A social care worker or a health professional involved in your care can refer you, or you can self refer by completing the council's referral form. The telecare team can be reached on 024 7697 8933 or by email at telecare@coventry.gov.uk. Charges are published separately by the council.
The switch-off date does not change. The council does, because CV8 Kenilworth and CV12 Bedworth sit in Warwickshire rather than Coventry. If your alarm came from a council, it will be a Warwickshire service, so direct your questions there instead.
A digital alarm with its own mobile SIM does not use your broadband at all, so a broadband fault does not stop it working. That independence is the main reason SIM based units are the usual replacement for analogue equipment rather than devices that rely on a home router.
Where to start: check the back of the alarm, tell your phone provider it is there, and read our explanation of what the 2027 digital switchover means. Our SOS pendant alarm page for Coventry covers equipment and monthly cost. 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.