BT Digital Voice
In our episode that broadcast on 30th May 2024, we discussed BT Digital Voice – the national switchover from the old copper land line phone service to a digital one, and Gloria asked tech expert David McClelland what advice he would give if you get the call to be switched. He said:
ASK IF YOU NEED TO GET A NEW PHONE, AND TELL THEM ABOUT AN EXTENSION LINE, OR ANY ALARM
“Will my existing phones work or will I need to get some new phones? If you've got an extension line, maybe going to a shed at the bottom of the garden, let them know about that. If you do get that call from your service provider, think - have you got any alarms? Or a telecare device that relies on the landline.”
ASK WHEN WILL YOUR MIGRATION HAPPEN
“When are you planning to migrate me? How can I contact you if for some reason my phone does stop working? It might be worth getting a cheap pay-as-you-go mobile phone as a back-up just in case.”
WATCH OUT FOR FRAUDSTERS
“And finally, public service announcement. We are hearing cases where fraudsters are phoning up people pretending to be from the phone company talking about this migration. So as always, be aware of fraudsters because they are trying to muscle in on the action.”
WHAT IS DIGITAL VOICE?
Digital Voice is the name of BT’s digital telephone service. In practice, you're not likely to notice too many differences between it and a traditional landline but it works a bit differently behind the scenes. Rather than connecting via the copper phone network, Digital Voice works using a broadband connection. This might mean your phone needs to be plugged into your router, or a new socket, but for many there won’t be too many other noticeable changes.
