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

The analogue phone network is retired on 31 January 2027, and every landline in Norwich becomes digital. If someone in Thorpe Hamlet, Mile Cross or Bowthorpe wears a pendant alarm plugged into the phone socket, it may not be able to call for help afterwards. Norwich sits under two councils, and only one of them runs the alarm service.

What is changing in Norwich, and when?

Openreach is retiring the analogue telephone network by 31 January 2027. From then on a home phone in Norwich works over the broadband connection, with the handset plugged into the router rather than the socket on the skirting board. Numbers do not change and most people notice very little on an ordinary call.

The difference shows up in the equipment that quietly shares the line. Openreach reported roughly 2.8 million lines still on the old network in February 2026, and plenty of them have something plugged in that nobody has thought about for years.

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

Only if it is digital ready or connects over the mobile network. An older base unit in a hallway in Lakenham or Old Catton dials out using audio tones down a copper wire, and digital lines do not carry those tones reliably. The Telecare National Action Plan from DHSC and DSIT 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 telecare solution is in place.

Power cuts are the second issue. A digital line runs through 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 says providers should offer battery backup free of charge to customers who depend on their landline to call the emergency services. That backup comes from the phone company and protects a 999 call, not the alarm.

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

1. Follow the cable from the base unit. A thin lead into a white phone socket means analogue and at risk. A lead into the broadband router means it has already moved across. A power lead alone usually means a mobile unit.
2. Find out who monitors it. A Norwich City Council alarm is monitored by Appello. A privately bought alarm will carry a company name on a sticker or the paperwork.
3. Press the button and say it is a test. Check the operator can hear you clearly and holds the right address and keyholders. Two minutes settles most of the worry.

What about alarms provided by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council?

Norwich is a two-tier area, and the alarm sits with the city council rather than the county. Norwich City Council's own page for its Community Alarm Service states that "Appello provides a 24-hour personal emergency alarm and monitoring service for older people and adults who are vulnerable or at risk", and points readers to Appello for the detail. Norfolk County Council confirms this split on its own community alarms page, saying that access "is dependent on which district council area you live in".

That matters near the boundary. Cringleford in NR4 falls under South Norfolk and Sprowston in NR7 under Broadland, so the arrangement there may differ from a house half a mile away in NR1.

Norwich City Council has not published a public timetable for moving its community alarm service to digital. Norfolk County Council has published guidance, on its landline telephone digital switchover page, telling residents that "if you or someone you know is dependent on a landline telephone, or a service that relies on it, such as a telecare device, personal alarm, or burglar/fire alarm, then it is important that you contact your telecoms provider". That is sound advice, but it is county level guidance rather than a statement about one base unit in one Norwich hallway.

What should Norwich residents do now?

Ring the landline provider first and tell them someone in the household relies on a personal alarm. That single fact, recorded on the account, is what triggers the national protections before an engineer books a visit.

Then chase the alarm itself. If it came through Norwich City Council, ask the council or Appello whether that unit is digital ready and when it is due to change. A mobile connected alarm sidesteps the landline question entirely, which suits the many Norwich households where the broadband is in a family member's name or where there is no broadband at all. Any replacement should run on 4G, because 3G mobile networks are now switched off.

Frequently asked questions

Where to start: tell your phone company an alarm is in use, ask Norwich City Council or Appello whether the base unit is digital ready, then plan a replacement if it is not. See our SOS pendant alarms in Norwich page, our digital switchover guide, or read whether a personal alarm needs wifi or a landline. Openreach explains the national programme on its upgrading the UK page. 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.