Council and health-partnership services for alarms in individual homes had reached 97 per cent digital connectivity by August. Housing presents a more complicated task, involving warden-call equipment, lift alarms, fire systems and the records needed to establish what remains connected.
Scotland’s digital telecare programme has renewed its effort to identify equipment in housing developments that still depends on analogue telephone lines, after an August report found that more than 60 housing organisations had yet to confirm their telecare status or migration plans.
The report came from the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government. Its revised housing resource pack, promoted on 29 September, asks organisations to establish what connected equipment they hold, identify gaps in ownership and records, and bring housing, property, IT and procurement staff into the migration process.
The work is entering its final months before Openreach’s planned closure of the public switched telephone network on 31 January 2027. On 13 October, Ofcom issued new severe-weather guidance warning that storms and power failures can interrupt communications, with rural areas more likely to be affected.
Telecare allows people to summon assistance through alarms and sensors linked to monitoring services. The equipment may sit in an individual home or form part of a larger system serving a housing development. Preparing the monitoring centre for digital calls does not complete the connection from every resident’s home.
From monitoring centres to individual buildings
The national telecare review published in June recorded 137,524 service users and 157,267 active connections. The latter total also included communal systems, lifts, fire panels, key safes and door-entry equipment. It was a count of monitored links, not people.
The review combined a survey conducted from December 2025 to January 2026 with follow-up work through March. It found that all 23 alarm receiving centres used by Scottish authorities had upgraded to digital platforms; 22 were based in Scotland and one council bought call handling from a centre in England. Twenty-two of the centres used cloud-based software.
Services had generally prioritised alarms in individual homes before tackling housing schemes. The review identified grouped housing as a more difficult part of the transition, involving older equipment, procurement, cost and coordination between organisations.
By August, the programme reported 97 per cent digital connectivity across council and health and social care partnership dispersed telecare services. Housing providers, however, were still working through warden-call systems and equipment integrated with fire alarms, lifts and door entry. The programme said further testing and development remained necessary for some devices intended to connect older systems to digital monitoring platforms.
The August figure does not establish how many organisations remained unconfirmed in October, how many had equipment requiring replacement, or how many residents were affected.
Replacing a service as well as its equipment
In May, Link Group reported that it had installed digital alarm units across all its Retirement Plus developments following a trial. It retained the existing warden-call system during the initial trial period, identified integrated devices, checked contractors and revised its records before completing the rollout.
The association said it had received all five awards in the Digital Office’s implementation scheme, covering governance, planning, testing, operation and completed migration. Its account shows the work extending beyond installing replacement alarm boxes to checking the associated equipment and how the service operates.
The national programme’s July readiness checklist asks providers to consider connectivity and signal testing, compatibility with the receiving centre, staff preparation and business continuity. It also asks housing organisations to keep accurate service records and avoid treating temporary arrangements as permanent replacements without a plan for full digital migration.
September’s revised housing pack extends that exercise across the estate. It addresses organisations directly providing telecare and those managing buildings with equipment that communicates off site. The programme offers help with technical, operational and procurement questions, including organisations still establishing the implications for their properties.
Power and signal are part of the connection
The Digital Office reported in May that mobile reception could vary within a property according to its layout and construction, as well as between rural and urban areas. Some households lacked reliable broadband or did not want it installed. Providers were testing signal-enhancing equipment and alarms with improved aerial capability, while the national programme gathered evidence on possible solutions.
Ofcom’s October guidance places power resilience alongside those connection problems. Home broadband and digital landlines require an additional power source to keep working during a mains outage. Where someone depends on a landline and has no working mobile phone or reliable mobile signal, the regulator says their provider must offer a free backup solution allowing emergency calls for at least an hour.
Care alarms require their own compatibility checks. Ofcom advises users to tell both the telephone provider and the device supplier before a line changes. The provider can then check the arrangements and, where necessary, pause migration until a safe solution is available. The regulator’s guidance also requires providers to assess additional support needs during installation.
Temporary services do not extend the network’s deadline
Some services have a route beyond January while replacement equipment is arranged. BT’s Pre-Digital Phone Line is an interim product intended to retain compatibility with older devices, including telecare and lift equipment, while moving the connection off the old network. BT says support is planned until December 2030, although some existing features will not work and broadband cannot be hosted on that service.
On 24 September, Openreach confirmed additional safeguards for its emergency voice access service, EVAc. This is intended for eligible lines still awaiting migration after the network closes. The company said it would also preserve linked broadband where technically possible. It described the arrangement as temporary and limited, with providers still responsible for completing migration.
The company also reported that its Prove Telecare service had helped upgrade more than 70,000 customers by sending specially trained engineers to test devices before changing their lines. That is a company-reported figure across its network, not a Scottish total.
Openreach’s September announcement confirmed that the additional safeguards leave the 31 January 2027 closure date unchanged.
Sources
Housing Sector Continues to Drive Forward Digital Telecare Migration
Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, August 2026; published 28 August 2026.
https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/media/Sharon%27s%20Housing%20Blog%20-%20August%202026%20%28PDF%29.pdf
Housing Blog: The Housing Resource Pack
Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, 29 September 2026.
https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/news/housing-blog-september-2026-the-housing-resource-pack-340
Scottish Telecare Review: A Nation in Transition
Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, April 2026 version; published 18 June 2026.
https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/media/Scottish%20Telecare%20Review%20-%20A%20Nation%20in%20Transition%20-%20Apr%202026%20v1.0.pdf
Link Leads the Way with Digital Telecare Implementation Award Scheme Accreditations
Link Group, 14 May 2026.
https://linkhousing.org.uk/latest-news/link-leads-the-way-with-digital-telecare-implementation-award-scheme-accreditations-4298/
Digital Telecare Migration Readiness Checklist
Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, July 2026.
https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/media/DT%20Digital%20Migration%20Checklist.pdf
Countdown to Digital: Eight Months to Go — Staying Connected
Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, 29 May 2026.
https://telecare.digitaloffice.scot/news/countdown-campaign-may-staying-connected-329
Stay Connected in Severe Weather
Ofcom, 13 October 2026.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/vulnerable-customers/stay-connected-in-severe-weather
Your Landline Is Going Digital: What You Need to Know
Ofcom, updated 26 August 2026.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/landline-phones/future-of-landline-calls
What Is a Pre-Digital Phone Line? Your Questions Answered
BT Business, 2 September 2025.
https://business.forums.bt.com/t5/Blogs/What-is-a-Pre-Digital-Phone-line-Your-questions-answered/ba-p/95365
Openreach to Protect Broadband Connections as PSTN Closure Approaches
Openreach, 24 September 2026.
https://www.openreach.com/news/openreach-to-protect-broadband–connections-as-pstn-closure—approaches/
