The Digital Switchover in Newcastle: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm
The analogue phone network is switched off on 31 January 2027, and alarms that dial out through a phone socket are the devices most at risk. Newcastle upon Tyne is in a stronger position than many cities, because Newcastle City Council's telecare and response service, Ostara, has been moving its equipment to digital connections with mobile backup.
Key facts
- The analogue phone network (PSTN) is retired on 31 January 2027.
- Newcastle City Council runs the telecare and response service, called Ostara, part of its adult social care service.
- The city covers NE1 to NE7, with NE12, NE13 and NE15 reaching the outer estates and neighbouring districts.
- Ostara is available in Newcastle upon Tyne and some parts of Northumberland and North Tyneside, so the boundary is not the city boundary.
What is changing in Newcastle, and when?
Every landline is moving off the old copper network onto a digital connection carried over broadband. Openreach has confirmed it is retiring the analogue phone network by 31 January 2027.
The conversions happen in batches, so a house in Fenham may be switched months before one in Walker. When it happens the telephone plugs into the router instead of the wall socket, and the visible change ends there. What needs checking is everything else that used the line: alarm base units, linked fall and smoke sensors, and warden call equipment in older sheltered schemes across Gosforth, Byker and Kenton.
Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?
Only if it does not depend on the analogue line. An older alarm dials the monitoring centre using analogue tones, and digital lines carry those tones unreliably. Some units carry on, some drop the call partway, and some fail silently while the pendant lights up exactly as it always has.
An alarm that connects over the mobile network is unaffected, because it has its own SIM and never touches the phone line.
The Telecare National Action Plan commits that "no telecare user will be migrated to digital landline services without the communication provider, the customer or the telecare service provider confirming that the user has a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place". That protection depends on your phone company knowing an alarm is in the house, so tell them.
How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?
- Look behind the base unit. A cable running into a telephone socket, or into the back of a router, means the alarm uses the fixed line.
- Look for a SIM or aerial. A SIM tray, a short aerial or a 4G label means the unit is mobile connected.
- Ask on a test call. Press the pendant and ask the operator whether that unit is digital ready.
See also our guide to whether an alarm needs WiFi or a landline.
What about alarms provided by Newcastle City Council?
Newcastle City Council's service is called Ostara, which the council describes as "Newcastle's telecare and response service" offering help at the touch of a button, 24 hours a day. It sits within adult social care, and its published coverage is Newcastle upon Tyne plus some parts of Northumberland and North Tyneside. The council's telecare pages invite residents to "Contact Ostara to book a free telecare consultation", on 0191 277 7470 or at ostara@newcastle.gov.uk. The main council number, 0191 278 7878, also reaches the team if you ask for Ostara.
On the switchover, Newcastle is better than most but harder to find than it should be. Neither the Ostara pages nor the council's telecare pages carry a switchover notice. The information sits instead on InformationNOW, the council's own information service run by its adult social care team. That explains that telephone providers are moving customers from analogue landlines to a digital service, and describes Ostara's newer equipment as having a 72 hour battery backup and a 4G roaming SIM, so it can still call for help if the power or the broadband fails.
That is a genuinely reassuring specification, but it describes newer equipment, not necessarily the box already in your hallway. What the council has not published is a timetable saying when each remaining unit will be swapped. Ring Ostara and ask about yours.
What should Newcastle residents do now?
If the alarm came from the council, ring Ostara and ask whether the unit in your home is one of the digital ones with battery backup and a roaming SIM. If it is not, ask when it is due to be changed.
If the alarm came from a private supplier, a housing association or a relative years ago, that supplier is responsible. Either way, tell whoever bills you for the phone line that a telecare alarm is in use at the address, because that flag is what triggers extra care during migration.
The one thing to get right in Newcastle
Know the name. Newcastle's council alarm service is called Ostara, not Careline or Lifeline, and it was previously known as the community care alarm service. People searching for a generic name often land on national companies instead, and then assume the council does not provide anything. It does.
Want a straight answer about your alarm?
Describe the base unit and we will tell you whether it survives the switch-off, with no obligation.
Telephone 01704 332840 | info@holdengrange.com
Book a free call with HannahFrequently asked questions
Newcastle upon Tyne, covered by Newcastle City Council. Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire is a different town with a different council and different arrangements, and the two are frequently confused online. If your postcode starts NE you are in the North East and this page applies.
Newer Ostara equipment is described by the council's own InformationNOW service as having a 72 hour battery backup and a 4G roaming SIM, which means it does not depend on the landline. Older units may still be analogue, so ring Ostara on 0191 277 7470 and ask about the specific box in your home.
Gateshead Council and North Tyneside Council run their own services, though Ostara does cover some parts of North Tyneside and Northumberland. If in doubt, ring Ostara and ask whether your address falls inside its coverage before assuming either way.
A digital landline stops working without battery backup. Ofcom requires providers to offer at least one hour of access to emergency services, free, to customers who depend on the landline for emergency calls. That protects the telephone rather than the alarm, which is why battery backup in the alarm itself matters.
Where to start: Check the back of the alarm for a phone cable, ring Ostara on 0191 277 7470 if it is a council unit, and tell your phone provider about the alarm either way. See our digital switchover guide or pendant alarms for Newcastle. 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.