BT accused of ‘bullying’ customers by pausing broadband in digital landline push
BT is facing accusations of bullying customers by temporarily cutting off broadband services to force a migration from copper landlines to digital VoIP systems. The company is under pressure to meet a January deadline for retiring the old public switched telephone network.
Why it matters
It raises concerns about consumer rights and the aggressive tactics used by telecommunications providers during large-scale infrastructure transitions.
About 1.3m copper-based landlines are yet to be migrated to digital. About 1.3m copper-based landlines are yet to be migrated to digital. BT BT accused of ‘bullying’ customers by pausing broadband in digital landline push Companies race to switch households to ‘voice over internet protocol’ services by the end of January
Prefer the Guardian on Google BT has been accused of “bullying” customers by temporarily cutting off their broadband to pressure them to upgrade to a digital landline, as providers race to switch households over before the January deadline.
Telecoms companies have so far migrated 16-17m lines from the old copper network to digital voice over internet protocol (VoiP), which uses a broadband connection instead, in the biggest technological upgrade since the early 00s, when analogue TV was switched off .
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in