A SPECIAL event is being held in Bromsgrove to provide the district’s older people with more information about the switching of analogue telephone landlines to digital.
A number of residents have expressed concerns about the move which has prompted Age UK Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest (BRWF) and the Bromsgrove Forum for Older People to put on a question and answer session.
The event will take place between midday and 2pm tomorrow (Wednesday, May 15) at the Age UK BRWF shop, 113, High Street, Bromsgrove.
Members of BT’s Digital Voice team will be on hand to provide more information about the switch and to respond to people’s individual questions and concerns.
The old copper network will be switched off by the end of next year in a move which is arguably one of the biggest social changes since the analogue TV switch-off ten years ago.
For most people, the switch to digital will be as straightforward as connecting their home phone handset to their router rather than the phone socket on the wall. But there are many within local communities (in particular older people)who do not currently have access to broadband and/ or who have additional vulnerabilities that could be impacted by the move.
Landlines are not the only things in our homes supported by the copper phone network – it also supports telecare and healthcare devices, plus burglar alarms.
A representative from NEW Lifeline will also be attending the event on Wednesday to speak to people about the solutions being implemented to ensure their telecare devices will work with digital phone services.
Speaking about the event, Mary Rowlands, Secretary of the Bromsgrove Forum for Older People said: ‘It is really important that people are aware that this change is happening.
“I would encourage anybody who has any questions or concerns to come along and speak with the representatives from the BT Digital Voice team so they can fully understand how this will affect them and what they need to do.”
Anyone wanting to find out more about the digital switchover can visit bt.com/digital-voice for further details.
The national Age UK team has also published a range of helpful information on its website. Go to ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/consumer-issues/changes-to-landline-telephones/ for more.
