BT’s Digital Voice to be rolled out across Yorkshire and the Humber

BT recently announced plans to roll out its new home phone service, Digital Voice, on a region-by-region basis. Having started in the East Midlands, BT is now moving on to Yorkshire and the Humber.

An industry-wide shift from analogue to digital landlines will see BT and many other telecoms operators in the UK provide services over a broadband line, similar to work taking place in many other countries around the world.

This once-in-a-generation upgrade to future-proof the UK’s landlines is essential and will replace technology that is fast becoming obsolete. The landline isn’t going away, and for the most of customers, making the switch simply involves plugging your phone into a broadband router instead of into a wall-mounted phone socket, bringing new benefits such as advanced spam call blocking.

Customers in Yorkshire and the Humber will be contacted at least four weeks in advance before making the switch, to ensure they are ready to move to Digital Voice. For almost all customers, Digital Voice will have no impact on how they use their home phone. They’ll still have the same service, and price plan and bills will stay the same. In addition, more than 99% of phone handsets work with Digital Voice and for those that won’t, BT has a range of handsets that customers can order.

Vicky Hicks, Senior Engagement Manager at BT, said: “BT customers in Yorkshire and the Humber will benefit from a tried and tested service, with around two million BT customers already having made the switch and benefitting from the many advantages of digital home phones from advanced scam call filtering capabilities to crystal-clear call audio.

“For almost everyone, moving to Digital Voice will be a simple and free transition with no home installation work required. If you feel you need additional support with the transition or you think you are vulnerable, please do tell us. We will be with you every step of the way.”

BT won’t be proactively switching anyone who falls under the below criteria, where it has this information available:

Customers with a healthcare pendant
Customers who are over 70
Customers who only use landlines
Customers with no mobile signal
Customers who have disclosed any additional needs
Engaging with the Yorkshire and the Humber community

BT’s regional approach will be supported by general awareness communications, and advertising campaigns, delivered across local and regional media to explain to customers the simple steps required to make the move to Digital Voice.