BT accused of ‘bullying’ customers during digital landline switch
BT has been accused of temporarily cutting off customers’ broadband to pressure them to move to digital landline services. Telecoms companies are migrating households from the old copper network to voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, which uses a broadband connection, as providers work toward a January deadline.
BT has been accused of “bullying” customers by temporarily cutting off their broadband while seeking to move them to a digital landline service. The allegation comes as telecoms companies race to transfer households from the old copper network before a January deadline.
The replacement service uses voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, which carries calls through a broadband connection instead of the traditional analogue network. The migration is described as the biggest technological upgrade since the early 2000s, when analogue television was switched off.
Telecoms companies have so far migrated between 16 million and 17 million lines from the copper network to digital voice services. The source does not provide BT’s response to the accusation or details about how many customers were affected by broadband pauses.
Providers are continuing the transition ahead of the January deadline. The supplied information does not specify the deadline’s year, the precise date on which individual customers will be moved, or what arrangements are available for households that do not upgrade.
THE QUESTIONS THIS EVENT LEAVES BEHIND
What conditions must be met before a provider can pause broadband during a service migration?
How many customers have experienced a broadband interruption linked to the digital landline rollout?
What alternatives are available to households that cannot use a broadband-based phone service?
Who is responsible for monitoring whether customers are being pressured into switching?
What consequences could follow if the January deadline is not met?
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GLOBAL CURIOSITY MAP · SEPTEMBER 2026